


Second Chances: New Beginnings

by dianexchan



Series: Second Chances [1]
Category: Free!
Genre: Angst, Best Friends, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, My First Fanfic, Romance, Slow Build, Swimming, Tears, swimming club
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-11
Updated: 2016-05-20
Packaged: 2018-04-25 19:40:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 25
Words: 60,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4973566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dianexchan/pseuds/dianexchan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>*NOTE*<br/>After starting to write this, it kind of has taken a life of it's own. Now I think it's going to become a series. This is Part One of the Series Second Chances.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>After your 6th year in Elementary your mother tells you that she got a new job and you're moving to Iwatobi. You're nervous but excited at the same time. What will happen in this new chapter in your life. New Friendships? New Relationships?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. New Beginnings

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my first fanfic. I was laying in bed one night and this story popped into my head. It was a waking dream and no matter what I tried the story just played in my head. It was a certain scene that will come later in this work. (I don't wanna ruin anything!) This story is a slow build but if you hang in there we'll get to the nitty gritty of this story. Just got to set up the characters and the story. :)
> 
> I really hope you like this story. This chapter is pretty short so I'm going to post two chapters.

I hadn’t always lived in Iwatobi, I went to elementary in another town not too far away. I didn’t remember much about it, I had a few friends but the relationships I formed with them didn’t really seem to stick. I would hear them talk about me behind my back, so I decided to not let them get too close. So when my mother told me she got a new job in another town and that we would both would have to move I wasn’t really all that distraught. Neither were my friends, which I had to admit hurt just a little bit. It affirmed my suspicions that they never really cared about me in the first place. That last day of 6th year, the day I had to move, I cried just a little. My mom assured me that I would find new friends that were even better than the ones you had and this time would be different. It made me feel a little better. My mom could always do that, brighten my day when I didn’t really want to be happy. I always kind of saw her as the best friend I never had.

That summer that we moved went by surprisingly fast. Between moving and my mom making sure I did have a least a little bit of a summer vacation, the school year was quickly approaching. We went to the beach a couple times and I had a lot of fun there. I’m kind of glad that there is one was so close in this town. I’ve always loved the water. Ever since my mom made me take swimming lessons when I was about 5 years old. I felt like a totally different person in the water. I was more confident, happier and carefree. The water accepted me as I was. The water didn’t care that I was too shy to make friends, it didn’t care that I was so self-conscious that I had a hard time looking up to face other people. The water saw me as [f/n] and no one else.

 Before I knew it, it was the night before 1st year and my first day at Iwatobi Middle. I was secretly freaking out about the next day. What if no one liked me? What if I was the center of being bullied in this new town? What if I made no friends and I was alone like the previous 6 years? I knew you could get through it, I had before, but I would at least like to have a few friends.

* * *

I didn’t let my mom see my worries as we ate dinner with that night. We were enjoying this because we knew after this, dinner with my mom would be a rare occurrence. My mom was starting her new job the next day. The hospital she was working for let her get adjusted to the move before starting, which allowed you two to have some bonding time. She was a ER doctor in Tokyo before you moved but she found a job here at Iwatobi that seemed to be of slower pace. She would get to spend more time with me but she would still get home late. At least we would have weekends together. We understood why we couldn’t spend as much time together as she wanted. She worked so we could have the life that we had right now. And she took this job so she could do more for us. I could never thank her enough for all that she has done, all that she has sacrificed. So I ate my dinner happy and let my worries stay in the back of my mind. We talked about our new life that is about to begin and she jokes about the new school year.

 “I bet you’ll have a boyfriend within 3 months. I wouldn’t be surprised. I have a pretty beautiful daughter.” Your mom jokes.

 “MOM!” you blush. “Thanks, but I’ll just be happy to make a few friends. Ones that I can be proud to call my friends.” you confess.

 “[F/N],” your mom softens “Don’t worry. You’ll find friends here. People in smaller towns are usually aren’t as spiteful as in the place we were from. You’ll find friends and you’re always welcome to invite them over. Unless its boys…I want to at least know about that” she winks at me.

 I blush furiously and my mom just chuckles. She looks up at the clock, “[F/N], I think we should head to bed. It’s getting late and we both have a busy day tomorrow.” My mom starts heading to her room and then turns back, “And [F/N]-chan don’t worry about tomorrow. It will go just fine. Probably better than you are expecting.” And then she headed back to her room for the night.

 I decided I better head to bed too so I headed to my room. There are still a few boxes around but for the most part my room is starting to look like my room again. I head over to my bed and just lay there. That is when the worries that I held back at dinner start floating to the surface. I try to close my eyes but all I see is darkness. I toss and turn all night, waking up a few times.

 

Easy to say, I didn’t get much sleep that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp...that was the first chapter! I hoped you liked it! 
> 
> I'm still setting up the story so bear with me.
> 
> Hope to see you in the next chapter! :D
> 
> Find me on [Tumblr](http://dianexchan.tumblr.com/)


	2. First Day at Iwatobi Middle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Its your first day at Iwatobi Middle. You're really nervous but excited at the same time. Little did you know, you would have a fateful meeting that day.

_BEEP.BEEP.BEEP.BEEP._ Damn that alarm clock, you did not want to get up. You didn’t get much sleep. You tossed and turned all night long and you had a nightmare that you got to school and everyone laughed right in your face. You didn’t know why but they just did. You couldn’t see their faces but you could hear their laughter. It was terrifying. You groaned and turned off the alarm. “[F/N]! Wake up or you’ll be late for school!!” you heard your mom yell from the kitchen. “I’m Up!” you call back.

You have never been a morning person and this morning is no exception. You go to the bathroom and brush your teeth and hair. You go back to your room and put on your uniform. Making sure there is no wrinkles, that your socks are even and that your tie on your shirt is perfect. You have to look perfect, it’s your first day at a new school and first impressions are important. You go back to the bathroom and take one more look at your appearance wondering if you should do anything with your hair. You decide to put it in a half-pony and put a red ribbon in your hair. You probably won’t look this good the rest of the year but at least you look good today.

You head downstairs to see your mom has breakfast ready. “You didn’t have to do this mom. I could have made my own breakfast.” You say to your mom. “You are not going to your first day of school just eating toast and juice. Now sit.” You blush, she knows you too well. You sit down and thank her for the food. “Really mom, thanks for this.” Your mom waves her hand in dismissal, “Don’t worry about it [f/n], that’s what moms are for. Also I made you a bento. Don’t forget it.” Your eyes go a little wide and you nod since your mouth is full of food. You look up at the clock on the wall and realize you better leave before your late.

“Well mom, I gotta go. I don’t wanna be late.” You grab your bag you had set by the door the night before. “Thanks again mom”, you smile, “I’ll text you when I get home.”

“Thanks, and it’s no problem. I just wish I could do it more often. Have a good day”, my mom tells me as she waves me goodbye. I run and give her a hug and then I start my walk to school. I kind of wish I had someone to walk with but the silence is kind of nice at the same time. You can hear the sound of the ocean’s waves, the seagulls and the wind through the trees. It’s nice, but all too soon you can hear the sound of the school. You pick up your pace so you’re not late to the entrance ceremony.

* * *

You get there just in time. You head into the front gates and are almost run down by two little first years who you assume are brother and sister. And then you hear the most angelic voice you have ever heard. “Ren, Ran slow down! The school isn’t going anywhere!” You kneel down carefully and steady the two so that they don’t fall down. “Hi, how are you guys doing?” The cute little siblings tell me that it’s their first year and they’re very excited.

“What year are you in?” the little boy asks me.

“I’m starting my first year in Middle School.” You smile at them.

“Wow! Onii-san is a 2nd year. Maybe you’ll see him at school!” The little girl smiles at me. “Maybe,” I smile at them and send them to the school hall.

“Sorry about that. They’re a little excited to be starting school.” I hear the voice again behind me. I can also hear the smile in his voice. I’m kind of nervous to turn around. But slowly I do and I hide my nervousness with a smile.

“It’s no problem. I remember being that way. Not so much today though, I’m a little nervous.” I say as I turn around. What am I saying? I’m sounding like a total idiot. And then I actually see him. Oh my god. This boy can’t be real. The beautiful emerald eyes look down at me crinkling a little at the edges as he smiles, broad shoulders that are a little higher than me, and a beautiful smile that shouldn’t belong to this world.  I’m really trying not to blush but I’m also trying not to look down at the same time. It’s a bad habit of mine so I just look to the side.

“It can be that way. Hey, I’ve never seen you around here before. Did you move here recently?”

“Actually I moved here over the summer, todays my first day at Iwatobi”, I confess.

“Oh! Well welcome to Iwatobi! I’m Tachibana Makoto, 2nd year at Iwatobi Middle School.” He introduces himself and bows a little bit. I’m kind of shocked by his sincerity. I feel my cheeks get warm.

“Oh..www..eell..” I stutter. “I’m [l/n] [f/n], 1st year at Iwatobi Middle.”, I bow. Well now I look like a total idiot. Why did I have to stutter?!?

“Nice to meet you [l/n]-san, well we better head to the opening ceremony before we’re late. I hope to see you around.”

You watch him jog to the school hall. You can’t believe this just happened. You actually held a conversation, and with a hot guy at that. You may be coming a long way. Never in a million years would you imagine talking to a guy like that. In the past you probably would have just freaked out and ran away but for some reason Tachibana-senpai made you feel comfortable. No other person, apart from your mother, had made you feel this comfortable. And you had only known him for maybe 15 minutes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp...there's chapter 2! Aren't Ren and Ran cute? Maybe they're secret matchmakers. ;)
> 
> Well I hope you liked that chapter! See you in Chapter 3 which is a Makoto POV! :D
> 
> Find me on [Tumblr](http://dianexchan.tumblr.com/)! You can send me an ask, I always like talking to new people. ^_^


	3. The New Girl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Makoto meets you for the first time.
> 
> Makoto POV.

**_Makoto POV_ **

That morning Ran and Ren were really excited to start school. They were jumping around and it took all I could just to get the twins dressed and ready on time. “Come on Ran, Ren or we’re going to be late!” “We’re coming Onii-san!” They say as they come bounding in to the entrance of our home. They’re so cute. I’m kind of nervous about them starting school for the first time but I’m also almost as excited as they are.

We start walking to school and I struggle to keep up with them. “Don’t walk too far ahead. I don’t want the two of you to get lost and be late on your first day of school!” I warn them. “We know Onii-san. We’re just so excited!” Ran says and she skips ahead of me.

When they see the entrance to Iwatobi Elementary they can’t hold back. They just run and I fear they are going to run over someone. I run after them, “WAIT!!” My protests do nothing and as I turn the corner my fears are almost realized. Luckily the girl they almost run over hears me and catches them just in time. She says hi to my little siblings and I just watch. Just seeing her profile makes my heart stammer and I don’t what I’m going to do when she turns around. But then I think, ‘What if she doesn’t turn around?’. I can’t let that happen. I need to know who she is.

“Sorry about that. I guess I underestimated their excitement.” I apologize.

“Don’t worry about it. I think we were all that way on our first day.” She replies. Man, her voice is beautiful. I’ve never thought someone’s voice to be beautiful but hers was. She finally turns around and I’m taken aback by her beauty. I’ve never seen anyone like her before. I’ve never seen her before, she had to be new. Her beautiful [h/c] hair half tied up with a ribbon blowing in the slight breeze, beautiful round [e/c] eyes looking up at me and then darting to the left in embarrassment. She has the skin that glows like that of an angel and a smile that could melt even the coldest of hearts. I could see a faint blush on her cheeks that made my heart race. You could tell this was all natural beauty. The beauty most girls try to achieve with makeup but she just woke up with. Now I had to know her name.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you around here before, are you new to Iwatobi?”, I ask. Man that is a dumb question but I need to talk to her. I’m afraid she’ll disappear if I don’t.

“Yeah…” she starts. “I moved here during the summer and today’s my first day at a new school.” She looks to the side again. She must be so nervous, starting out a new place with no friends. I couldn’t imagine it.

I smile to put her more at ease. “Oh! Well welcome. I’m Tachibana Makoto. Like Ren and Ran said I’m starting Iwatobi Middle.”, I introduce myself. I blush a little at the end and bow a little to hide it and I’m hoping she doesn’t notice. It seems like she doesn't and she starts to introduce herself. “Arigatou…Iii..mmm [l/n] [f/n].” She stutters, so cute. “I'm starting my 1st year here at Iwatobi Middle. It’s nice to meet you.” She does a light bow. I look down at my watch and realize the ceremony is about to start and I still have to walk to the Middle School. I really don’t want to go but I know I have to or my best friend will wonder what’s wrong. It’s not far but I still don’t want to be late.

“It’s nice to meet you too [l/n]-San. We better head to the ceremony before we're late. I hope to see you around.” I wave to her. And I really meant it. I really hope to see her again.

After the ceremony I find my seat next to my best friend Haru. We’ve been best friends since before we started school and I always sit next to him. He just stares at me asking “What happened?” with his eyes. I just look back and try to convey that I’ll tell him later with my eyes as well. He seems to understand. We’ve always been this way. Seemingly being able to converse without actually saying anything. It’s kind of hard to explain but it works for us.

After school, I walk home with Haru. We walk in silence but it’s a good silence. One that doesn’t need to be filled with words. Finally, he looks at me and asks “So, why were you late this morning?” I told him how excited Ran and Ren were this morning. How they almost ran over someone in their excitement. How I met a girl that just moved to Iwatobi and how I thanked her for helping the twins. I didn’t tell him how I felt about [l/n]-San. I didn’t want to tell him just yet. I needed to get my feelings in order. He seemed to sense there was more but he let it go and I’m glad.

“I just feel bad for her, she’s starting a new school and doesn't know anybody. I hope she makes a few friends.” I think aloud. Haru just grunts in consent. Haru has always been that way, never much for words, but I still understand him.

“Well we better head home. Did you want to stay for dinner? I’m sure my parents wouldn’t mind.”, I tell Haru. “No I think I’m going to eat home tonight. Thanks for the offer though.” We then go our separate ways.

* * *

 

When I get home I greet my family and have dinner with them. We're having green curry tonight, my favorite. Ren and Ran had a fun day on their first day and after we eat we head up to my room to play some video games.

"Onii-chan! You beat me again!", Ren pouts. "I'm sorry Ren-chan. Want to play again? You can choose the area.” I tell my little brother. “Yeah!”, exclaims Ren. “No fair Ren-chan, Ran wants to play too.”, my sister pouts, “I get to play the next race, it’s only fair!” “Okay Ran-chan, next race is yours,” I smile to my sister. I really do love my siblings. I love my whole family and I cherish even the little moments like this.

As I start the next race with Ren-chan, my mind wanders to what happened this morning. If it wasn’t for the excitement and over exuberance of my two siblings, I probably would have never met [l/n]-san. I truly hope I see her again; I hope I actually get to talk to her again. Maybe we could even have a longer conversation. I want to know more about her; what she likes, what she doesn’t like, I want to know everything. It’s a strange feeling and I don’t want it to stop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's chapter 3! I hope you liked the Makoto POV. I hope I did Makoto justice.  
> I just love Makoto's interactions with his brother and sister.
> 
> Hope to see you next chapter! :D
> 
> You can also find me on [Tumblr](http://dianexchan.tumblr.com/)!


	4. Entrance Ceremony

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You are at the entrance ceremony and meet your best friend Kou! And she finds out your secret.

You get to the school hall just in time and find a place almost near the back. Luckily you remembered your glasses this time. You often forget them but you seem to be remembering them more often now. You find a place next to a girl of your same grade. She has maroon hair and red eyes and seems really cheerful. Your space out throughout whole ceremony, which probably isn’t a good thing. You can’t help it; you can’t believe Tachibana-senpai actually talked to you. Maybe your life is going to change in this new town.

You don’t realize someone is trying to get your attention until you feel a nudge on your arm. You come to and the girl with the maroon hair is trying to talk to you. Apparently the ceremony is over and you need to head to class. That’s if you can find it. This new school thing is kind of stressful.

“So, are you new here?” the girl asks.

“Yes I am, I moved here in the summer.” You reply. I wonder how many times I’m going to say that today.

“Cool! I’m Matsuoka Gou. What class are you in?” she asks as we head to the main school building.  
“Hi Matsuoka-san, I’m [l/n] [f/n]. I think I’m in class 3.” I reply.

“Awesome! I’m in class 3 too! Maybe we can walk there together. And you can call me Kou; we’re the same age. Just don’t call me Gou.”

“Oh well thanks. Yeah I would like that.” You smile. You wonder why she doesn’t like Gou but you don’t ask. Seems like too personal of a question to ask for someone you just met.

You two talk on your way to class. She asks you about why you moved to Iwatobi and what you like to do for fun. She seems to sense that you don’t want to talk about your old school so she doesn’t ask.  And you ask her if she’s lived here all her life and what there is to do for fun here. Of course she says there isn’t much but there is the beach, theatre, and few shops downtown. You’re starting to think this town might not be so bad after all.

You two find an empty seat near the back and take a seat. You go through classes and eat lunch together. At the end of the day you are about to go your separate ways but you find out that you two live in the same direction so you walk home together. Right before you go your separate ways you wish could spend a little more time with her. She turns to you, “Would you mind if we exchanged emails so we can talk more? Outside of school I mean.”

“Of course I don’t mind!” I say as I pull out my phone. We exchange addresses and then I put my phone up. “Thanks for helping me out today. You’re a life saver. I probably would have been lost without you,” I laugh nervously.

 “Don’t worry about it! I really think we’re going be good friends.” Kou responds.

“Me too,” I respond “I’ll see you tomorrow!”

 

* * *

 

  
The rest of the year goes by pretty smooth and Kou and I become best friends. We walk to and from school every morning together. We spend the night at each other’s houses sometimes. Your mom couldn’t be happier that you found a friend. I couldn’t be either, I finally had a friend I could trust and care about.

You find out that her brother is in Middle School and the same age as Makoto. He’s on the swim team and has red hair just like her and jagged teeth like a shark. That he’s on the swim team and plans to swim in the Olympics when he gets old enough.

You never forgot about Makoto and you don’t know when you started calling him by his first name. You always look for him every morning.  He always walks with a boy a little shorter than him with raven black hair. Sometimes he catches you looking so you just look down really hoping he truly hasn’t caught you. Kou starts to notice, unbeknownst to you. Finally, she says something while you two are at lunch.

  
I was thinking about Makoto again, wondering how he was doing. “…[f/n], [f/n], [F/N]!!” You finally come back to earth and feel Kou shaking your arm.

“Dang, [f/n] what are you thinking about so hard? I could have left and you wouldn’t have even known!” Kou chastises me.

“It was nothing, just thinking about the homework I have for tonight and what to make for dinner.”, you lie. No that isn’t what you were thinking of but now you are.

“Is that so? Hmm… No [f/n]-chan, I don’t think that’s it. I think you like Tachibana-san.” Kou  says calmly.

You almost choke of the drink that is in your mouth. You swallow, “What makes you say that?!”

“Well, every morning you’re always looking for him. Either that or you like Nanase-san. But I highly doubt it’s Nanase.”

You blush furiously. “Well its not Nanase-senpai,” you whisper.

“I KNEW IT!!!!” Kou screams. I shush her. “Don’t you dare tell anyone! Promise!”

“But….” Kou argues. “PROMISE.” I glare at her. “Fiinne… I promise. You’re no fun [f/n]-chan.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well there is Chapter 4! Thanks for reading, 889 words....wow!
> 
> I really love the aspect of Kou becoming your best friend. It gets you connected to the guys and some awesome girl talk. *hint hint*
> 
> Find me on [Tumblr](http://dianexchan.tumblr.com/)


	5. Girl Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You have some girl talk with your mom about boys. You also wonder how she found out your secret.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These chapters are starting to get a little long! Sorry in advance. Hope you still like these chapters. Any constructive criticism is appreciated! :D

“How’d you know that I liked him?” I was talking to Kou on the phone. 

_ “Hmm??” _

“How did you know that I liked Tachibana-senpai? I thought I kept it pretty well hidden.” I pouted. Luckily Kou couldn’t see me.

_ “Oh that. It was pretty obvious. I could always see you looking for him in the mornings. Sometimes you looked like you longed to be over there by his side. Maybe the average person wouldn’t notice but I’m your best friend. I know you pretty well.” _

_ “Speaking of, I really think you should tell him how you feel. Or at least let me set you two up!” _

“No! You promised Kou! I know you may not understand…”

_ “You’re right, I don’t understand! Why won’t you tell him??” _

She sounded a little upset but I knew her enough to know she was just irritated at my hesitance. “Because…well because I’m afraid of rejection. It’s one of my biggest fears. What if he doesn’t feel the same way? What if he doesn’t even like girls? You see how he’s always with his friend. They’re basically attached at the hip. If he didn’t feel the same way, it would break my heart. I’m fine with the way things are now. Maybe things will change in the future but I happy with the way things are now.”, I explained to her.

_ “Okay, okay. I understand. I still think you should tell him but I understand where you are coming from. I won’t say anything. I promise!” _

“Okay, thanks. Thanks for respecting my view on this. Maybe you’re right but I want to be able to do this on my own. I wouldn’t feel like Tachibana-senpai would take me seriously if you told him.” I confided in her.

_ “It’s no problem. And I can see that. If I liked someone and you told them about it, I would feel weird. Like it wasn’t from the heart.”  _

I looked up at the clock on my wall. My mom would be home in 45 minutes. I still had to cook dinner and I still had to finish my assignments for tomorrow. “Hey Kou, I gotta go. My mom is going to be home soon and I still have to finish that English assignment that is due tomorrow.”

_ “That’s due tomorrow?!? Crap…well I guess I gotta do that too.” _

I chuckle. “What would you do without me?”

_ “Probably be in tutoring. Well I guess I better let you go. I’ll see you tomorrow morning. Same time and same place?” _

“Yeah. Same place. Thanks for talking with me.”

_ “No problem. Same here. Well talk to you later, say hi to your mom for me.” _

“I will. Talk to you tomorrow. Bye Kou.”  

I hang up. I sigh and get up. Dinner won’t take me long so I take out my English homework. English isn’t my best subject but I get through the worksheet. Once I feel confident about it I put it back in my folder and back in my bag. I head to the kitchen and start dinner. I start the rice in the rice cooker, start the miso soup and start grilling some chicken and vegetables.

 

* * *

 

While I’m cooking I start thinking about what Kou was talking about. What if I did tell him how I felt? How would my world change? What if he felt the same way? I know he probably doesn’t but I can daydream. I flip the chicken and stir the vegetables and season them before I turn off the heat. I wash my hands. My mom should be home any minute. 

I hear the door unlock and open. 

“Tadaima…” I hear my mother greet me.

“Okaeri!” I call to my mom as I walked to the entrance while drying my hands on a towel. 

“How was your day?” she asks me as she takes her shoes off at the entry way and sets down her purse and keys. 

“It was good. Same old, same old. Dinner is almost ready. Oh and I talked to Kou earlier and she said to tell you hi.” I tell my mom.

“Oh, well I’ll go change really quick. I can’t wait to get out of these clothes. And she’s sweet. I’ll be right back.” She smiles at me as she heads back to her room.

I head back to the kitchen. I dish up the rice, chicken and vegetables on two plates. I then get two bowls out and dish up the miso soup. I put the plates and soup on the table and get out our utensils and napkins and put those on the table. By that time my mom has returned. “It looks really good, thanks [f/n].”

“Thanks. It’s not a big deal Mom.”, I tell her, “It’s not much but we should eat soon before it gets cold.”

“[F/N], it is a big deal. A daughter shouldn’t be cooking for her mother all the time. It should be the other way around.”, she says sadly. She sounds so depressed. I know she wishes she could do more but she doesn’t know how much I appreciate what she already does for me everyday. How much she sacrifices for my happiness. 

I touch her arm to get her attention. “Mom, I actually like to cook. So it doesn’t bother me. I understand why you can’t cook for me all the time. This works for us. And your daughter loves cooking for her mother that she loves. It’s my only way of showing you my thanks for all that you do for me.”, I smile at her.

“Well, I love you too. “, she smiles, “Let’s eat before the food gets too cold. I’m starving.” 

 

* * *

 

After we eat my mom makes us some tea and we head to the living area to talk about our day. I love the little talks we have before we head to bed every night. Sometimes it’s about school, sometimes it’s about her day at the hospital. This night is was about boys.

“So I guess I was wrong…” my mom leads.

“Hmm??? About what?” I wonder.

“I really thought you would have a boyfriend by now. Or at least have been talking about a guy that you liked.”

I cough trying not to choke on the tea that I had just drank. “Mom!” 

“Well it’s true. We started new here and I thought you might have better luck. Not that you have bad luck…it’s just the boys from where we used to live were just jerks.”

“Well, I can’t deny that. I just haven’t met anyone that has caught my eye yet.” I lie. I really didn’t want to tell her about Makoto. I haven’t talked to him since that first day and I really don’t think he would really remember it. 

“Well that’s okay too. Don’t force it.” She smiles. 

“I won’t mom.” I smile. 

“So have seen any clubs that have caught your interest?” she continues on. 

We talk for another hour. I’m getting really tired and I unconsciously yawn. 

“Oh well I guess that’s our cue to go to bed. We both have had a long day.” My mom quietly interrupts. 

“Yeah, sorry about that mom. Today was a long day.”, I reply.

“It’s okay. I’m getting pretty tired myself. Good night [f/n].”, my mom waves to me as she heads to her room. 

“Good night Kaa-san.” I lazily reply. 

I finally get up off the couch and put my cup in the sink and wash it out. I turn off the lights as I go to my room. I’m so tired that bed looks extremely inviting tonight. I turn off my lamp on my desk and head to my bed. 

I pick up my phone on my bed side table to set my alarm for the morning. I unlock my screen and see I have a message from Kou.

_ Kou: _

_ Hey! Man that English worksheet was hard! I hope I at least pass. Thanks for reminding me by the way. You’re a lifesaver! :P _

_ Oh btw, My brother is having a swim tournament this weekend and I was wondering if you wanted to come. I really don’t want to go by myself, my parents are going to be out of town, and I know you said you liked swimming!  _

_ So will you come?? I’ll treat you to some matcha ice cream! _

_ -^_^ Kou _

I texted her back. 

Me:

“Sorry for the late text. My mom and I were up talking for a long time. 

Yeah it was pretty tough. I’m just glad I got it done in time.

A swimming tournament? I’ve never been to one. I guess I will come. I’ll be waiting for that ice cream! Maybe we can flesh out the details tomorrow.

I’ll talk to you tomorrow. 

-XD [f/n]”

I set my alarm, plugged in my phone to charge and lock the screen. I just laid there for a few minutes and then like most nights dreamt of Makoto-senpai. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that's Chapter 5!  
> I really like Kou and the Protagonist's relationship. And I kind of wanted to expand on the Protagonist's and her mother's relationship dynamic. Hope you like it! 
> 
> Just a warning: The chapters are starting to get long! I kinda love it, the story is really coming along.
> 
> Find me on [Tumblr](http://dianexchan.tumblr.com/)


	6. She's Up to Something

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kou helps you get ready for the Swimming Tournament and you realize how lucky you are to have a friend like her.

It was the day of the Rin’s, Kou’s older brother, swimming tournament.  The school was let out an hour early for the tournament so students could go if they wanted to. Me and Kou walked home like usual but decided to meet up at my house later.

“I’ll meet you at your house in 15 minutes. It won’t take me long to get ready.” Kou told me as she jogged up to her house. 

“Alright. You can take your time. My mom has the day off so she said she could drop us off at the Iwatobi SC.” I reply. 

“Awesome. I’ll see you in a few. And [f/n]-chan. Wear something cute!” she winks at me and then runs into her house.

“Something cute? What…” I wonder. Wear something cute? What did she mean by that? The way she winked…she had to be up to something. 

 

* * *

 

I walk home and greet my mom. “Tadaima..” 

“Okaeri! How was school [f/n]?” she asks.

“…” I wasn’t paying attention. My mind was full of scenarios of what Kou could have cooked up. Each one I thought of I quickly dismissed. Then one just stuck and wouldn’t leave. Would Makoto be there? Was she trying to set us up even though I asked her not to?? Oh no…

“[f/n]-chan?? [F/N]!” my mom grabs my shoulder. 

“Huh? Oh Kaa-san!” Was she calling my name? I couldn’t really hear her; I was just so lost in my thoughts.

“[f/n]-chan, are you okay? I called you 3 times and asked you how your day was.” My mom worries.

“I’m just nervous about the tournament. I’ve never been to one before. I bet there will be a lot of people there.” I confide in her. Okay that isn’t the full truth but it is partial. I don’t really like crowds all that much.

“[f/n], it will be okay. I can go with you guys if you want. I kind of feel bad letting you two go by yourself.” She assures me.

“NO!”, my mom raises her eyebrows in surprise. “Sorry Kaa-san. No I want to do this by myself. Anyways, Kou-san will be with me too. I’ll be fine.”, I smile at her.

“Okay…I’ll trust you. Just know you can tell me anything. I’m here if you need to talk.” My mom tells me. 

I almost cave and tell her, but I stay strong. “Thanks Kaa-san. I really appreciate it.”, I smile. “Well I better head and get ready. Kou-san will be here soon.”

“Alright. Just meet me in the living area when you’re ready to go.” My mom tells me.

 

* * *

 

I run upstairs and when I get to my room I start freaking out. What am I going to do? What if he is there? Will I even see him? Will he talk to me? I fall down onto my bed and scream into my pillow “AHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” _Come on [f/n], calm down. You don’t even know if he’ll be there. It’s just a school event. Breathe. “_ Okay…”, I breathe out. Okay, first things first, I got to find something to wear. I don’t have time for a shower though. Let’s see, skirt or jeans? I can’t really text Kou for her advice. She’ll know I figured it out.

Man, none of my clothes looks cute enough. I settle for some skinny jeans. I wear a skirt to school every day, pants would be a nice change. So I got the bottoms, now the top. Hmm…. Then I hear a knock on the door. 

“Hello???” I ask shakily. 

“[f/n]-chan, Kou is here. Can she come in?” my mom asks.

“Sure” I reply. _Well this should be interesting._

The door opens and Kou comes storming in. “You’re not ready yet??” Kou accuses me. “We’ve got to be leaving pretty soon!”

“I know! You told me to wear something cute, and I can’t find anything!” I tell exasperatedly. 

Kou smiles mischievously, “Oh really?”

I narrow my eyes at her, “What?”

“Oh nothing” she quickly recovers. _Mhmm…she’s definitely up to something._ “Well I’ll help you.”

“Thanks. Well, I thought I would wear these pants but that’s as far as I got. Nothing I have looks cute!”, I complain.

“Calm down, [f/n]. You have plenty of cute clothes.” She sorts through my closet. I just sit on my bed; I’m trying to calm down. “Ah-ha! This is perfect!”

“Are you sure?” I question her.

“I’m sure! You did a great job on the pants but this top will go perfectly with it. Do you have any tanks to go under it?” She assures me.

“Yeah, over there in the second drawer from the top.” I point over to my dresser.

“Okay,” she shuffles through the clothes in drawer. “This one will be perfect.” She pulls out a charcoal grey tank top. “Okay, now go put this on and then we’ll work on your hair and makeup.”

“Makeup?!?”, I swallow. What is she going to do to me?

“Don’t worry about it. Now go!”, she basically pushes me out of my own room.

“Okay, okay.” I go to the bathroom and look at the clothes she has given me. The skinny jeans I had picked out, a charcoal tank, and a grass green plaid button-up. I don’t even remember buying this shirt. Was it a present that I don’t remember? I usually don’t wear button-ups so it probably has never been worn.

 I put on the pants and tank. I look at the button-up. I guess I have to trust Kou. I pull the price tag off, yeah definitely never been worn, and pull on the shirt and button it up. I leave the top three buttons undone so you could see the tank top beneath. I put my glasses back on and look at my reflection. I actually don’t look half bad. I take the hair brush that’s on the counter, pull down my hair from the usual ponytail, and start brushing it out. I then hear Kou.

“Come on! We still have more to do and we don’t want to be late!” she chastises me.

“Okay! Don’t laugh, I probably look stupid.” I put the brush down and walk out. I sigh.

Kou slowly smiles, “I knew this would be perfect! Not too dressy and not too casual.” “You look really good [f/n]-chan.”

I blush, “Well thanks.” Kou pulls me back to my room. 

“I think your hair should stay down. It’s really pretty that way. For the makeup, we’ll just put some thin eyeliner and mascara. You’ve got some natural beauty we just got play it up a little.” Kou thinks to herself aloud. 

I gulp loudly. “I’m trusting you Kou. I’ve never worn make-up before.”

“Don’t worry. I know what I’m doing.” Kou assures me. “Now look up.” I do as she says. She takes the eyeliner and draws a thin line under the lid. “Now look down.” I obey. She draws a thin line on my top lid. “Almost done. Now just look up again. I’m putting on the mascara. Now don’t flinch or blink, you’ll mess up everything I’ve done.” 

“Hai!” I say. She rolls her eyes. 

“You’ll thank me when I’m done.” She opens the mascara tube and pulls out the applicator. I gulp but keep my eyes open. She applies the mascara and I try not to blink. It’s really hard but she eventually gets my lashes done. She grabs the hand mirror that’s on my dresser and hands it to me. “Here, look.”

I pull up the mirror to my face and my eyes widen. Is this me? No way. “Wow Kou. This is amazing. Is this me?” I look to her.   
  


“Yeah, you have a lot of natural beauty. You don’t need a lot of makeup unlike most girls.” “Well go look in the bathroom and then we have to go or we’ll be late! I’ll meet you downstairs.”

“Hey, Thanks Kou. Thanks for this. And please don’t tell my mom. I haven’t told her about Tachibana-senpai. I will tell her, but I’m not ready yet.” I thank her.

“It’s no problem [f/n]. And I promise! My lips are sealed.” She mimes zipping her lips shut.

I chuckle, “Alright, I’ll meet you downstairs.” I head to the bathroom and look at myself one more time. Kou really did an amazing job. This shirt really brings out my [e/c] eyes. And it’s the same color as Makoto-senpai’s eyes. I shake my head; I can’t think about him right now. I’ll get too flustered.

 

* * *

 

I head downstairs and meet my mom and Kou. My mom’s eyes soften, “You look beautiful [f/n]-chan.”

I blush, “Thanks Kaa-san.” Luckily she doesn’t ask me why I was wearing make-up. 

“We better head to the Swim Center. You two don’t want to be late.” My mom tells us. We head out to her car and she drives us to the swim center. “You two be careful and let me know when you need a ride home.”

“We will Kaa-san. Thanks for the ride.” I smile at her. 

“Yeah thanks [l/n]-san.” Kou thanks her.

My mom smiles, “It’s no problem you too. Just have fun! Tell Rin-san that I said hi!”

“We will!” we say together as we walk off together to the entrance of the Iwatobi Swim Center. Little did I know what Kou had in store for me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 6!   
> I really liked playing out Kou's role as the reader's best friend. I kind of imagined what I would have liked out of having a best friend when I was in Middle/High School.
> 
> I'll hopefully have Chapter 7 up pretty soon! 
> 
> Thanks for reading my fic! :D Follow me on [Tumblr](http://www.dianexchan.tumblr.com)


	7. The Swim Tournament

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You finally get to go to Rin's swim tournament. And Kou surprises you with someone who is there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter took so long to come out! I had written it and the last half of the chapter didn't save. :'( So I had to retype it and try to remember what I had written. And then I've been really busy at work, making Halloween cakes and cupcakes. (I'm a cake decorator at a grocery store btw) 
> 
> So here's the long awaited chapter. I'm working on Chapter 8 so I should have that up pretty soon too.

We walk into the swim center and Kou pulls out her phone and texts someone.

“I just told Onii-san that we’re here. Let’s go find a seat before all the good ones are taken.” She informs me. I nod. I didn’t really want to talk; I was still pretty nervous.

We head into the pool area and find a seat in the middle of the stadium seating. They announce over the speaker the 100M Breaststroke. I see the competitors line up and get on the starting block. Once I hear the beep the swimmers jump off. Their form is breathtaking. The way their arms cut through the water and the wait their body jumps out of water starting their next swimming stroke. I was completely entranced.

“Have you never been to a swimming competition before [f/n]-san?” Kou asks me.

I sit up, not realizing I was hunched over, my chin resting on my hands. “Oh, no I haven’t. This is my first time.” I confess.

“It isn’t like anything else huh? All the testosterone and muscles.” Kou says dreamily.

“Uh-huh…” I just look at her. She wouldn’t be Kou if she didn’t mention muscles. I smile.

“Up next is 100M Freestyle.” We hear over the intercom. “Oohh!!! Onii-san’s race is next!” she smiles.

We turn back to the pool and watch as Rin-san steps up the starting block. And then I see someone familiar next to him. Smaller with a slim frame. They slide down their goggles and bow down on the starting block.

“Hey Kou, isn’t that Tachibana-senpai’s friend next to Rin-san?” I ask her. “Oh, yeah. That’s him. His name is Nanase Haruka. He is kind of Onii-san’s rival.” She answers. “Just wait until you see him swim. You’ve never seen anything like it.”

* * *

I nod and look back to the pool just as we hear the beep. They all dive in and Nanase-senpai’s form is beautiful. The arch of his dive is perfect and when he swims it’s like he was born to swim. It was like he became one with the water. She was right, I have never seen anything like it. Its beautiful. “Wow.” I just seem to say.

“Yeah,” she agrees with me.

Of course Nanase-senpai wins but Rin-san is a close second. Rin-san doesn’t seem too pleased. But he heads back to the lockers. I go to get up but Kou grabs my arm.

“Where are you going?” she asks me arching one of her eyebrows.

“To go congratulate Rin-san.” I plainly state. What did she think I was doing? It was over right?

She just shakes her head no. “Onii-san has one more race. The 400M Medley Relay, his favorite.”

“Oh.” I just answer and sit back down.

“Next is the 400M Medley Relay. Swimmers head to the starting block.” We finally hear over the intercom.

“See?” “It’s going to be awesome.” She smiles at me.

I nod and look ahead. I see Rin-san head to the starting block. And then I see him. Makoto-senpai. I gasp. I can feel Kou’s eyes on me but I don’t really care. If I thought he looked good before, him without a shirt was a total difference. He was like Adonis here in this swim center. He then stretched his arms across his body which showed off his back muscles. Holy… I shivered. I could feel my face getting hot and then I feel someone’s hand on my arm.

Kou clears her throat. I look at her. “I didn’t want you to fall. And you might want to sit down. It might be awkward if he sees you.”

I blushed and sat down really quick.

“I can understand.” “His muscles really are something else.” She says admiringly.

“You just like muscles.” I accuse her.

“Yeah I know.” She sighs. “But this is the best place to come see them.”

“True.” I reply. I then look back to the team. The line-up is Rin-san swimming the Butterfly Stroke, Makoto-senpai swimming what I guess is Backstroke, a short blonde-haired boy with big eyes swimming Breast Stroke, and then Nanase-senpai swimming Freestyle. “Who is that behind Tachibana-senpai?” I ask Kou.

“Oh, that’s Hazuki-san. He’s swimming breaststroke. He’s really something else, like a beam of sunshine really.” She answers me. I just raise my eyebrow in response. “You’ll see it if they win.”

The race was a close one, but Makoto-senpai’s team won the race. And when they won, the look on their faces isn’t one that could be explained. It was pure joy. They had all worked so hard for this and their hard had paid off. Anyone could see that and I was excited for them.

And speaking of Hazuki-san, that boy was like sunshine just like Kou had said. He just jumped up and hugged his teammates smiling the biggest smiling the whole time. And Makoto-senpai, that was the most beautiful smile I had ever seen. You can tell it was genuine smile, one that was not only happy for his friends but for what they had achieved as a team. That smile made my heart skip a beat.

“Let’s go congratulate my brother! We can wait for him after he gets out of the lockers in the main lobby. I’ll text him to tell him to meet up with us.” Kou plans.

“Sure, maybe we can go get something to eat after to celebrate.”, I suggest.

“Yeah that sounds like a good idea!”, Kou agrees with me.

We walk to the main lobby and wait for her brother and I can see her tapping away on her phone. We talk a little bit and Kou finally sees her brother.

* * *

**Kou’s POV**

I do love my best friend, but if I didn’t give her the push she needs she would never get anywhere. It was really obvious how much she likes Tachibana-senpai. The way she looks at him, how she searches for him, how she is always at some point thinking about him. She thinks I didn’t notice but how could you not?

And Tachibana-senpai, that clueless teddy bear. It’s also obvious that he likes her too. I’ll catch him every once in a while, he’ll be stealing glances of her too. But my [f/n] is so clueless and never sees it. And Makoto doesn’t see her obvious admiration. _Sigh_. With these two clueless lovebirds, they will never get together. Well I guess I’m going to have to do something about it.

I know that I promised to [f/n]-chan I would leave it alone but it would be a crime to do so. I just got to give them that little push that they both need. So, I found out from my brother that he was having a tournament and that he was swimming the relay with Nanase-senpai, Hazuki-senpai, and most importantly Tachibana-senpai. This would be the perfect opportunity. So I approach my brother about it, very carefully.

BEGINNING OF WEEK BEFORE TOURNAMENT:

We were just relaxing at home, watching TV. It was a rare moment, since he usually has swimming practice.

“Onii-san…” I start.

“What?” Rin stares at me.

“You have a tournament with Tachibana-senpai this weekend right?” I ask him.

“Yes, why?” he asks me skeptically.

“No reason. By the way, have you noticed anything different about Tachibana-senpai?”

“No I haven’t, not really.”

“Are you sure? He seems a little distracted to me lately.”

“I haven’t really noticed.”

“Watch him next time you’re around him at school. Especially before school starts. You’ll see what I’m talking about.” I tell him. _Hopefully he’ll see it, if he isn’t too dumb._

“You’re scheming something.” He accuses me.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Just do it okay?”

“Alright,” he finally concedes.

THE NEXT NIGHT: 

Rin shows up to my room and clears his throat. I’m trying to study and do some assignments so he catches me off guard.

“AH!” I yelp. “Onii-san! You scared me! Knock next time!”

“You just scare too easily.” Rin chuckles.

I pout. “Anyways, did you need something?” I ask him.

“Well I did what you said. I watched Makoto-san. He does seem distracted. He’s always staring at you and [f/n]-san. Does he like you or something?!? Do you like him? I forbid you from dating him! You can’t….” Rin starts to rant.

Oh no, there he goes. My overprotective brother. “Woah! Hold up.” I stand up and calm down my brother. “No I don’t like him like that. As a friend maybe. No he doesn’t like me either. Of that much I’m sure. Just stay calm.” I assure him.

“What do you mean? Then who does he like then if not you??”

_Sigh._ My brother is an idiot. “If it’s not me then who is always with me? Who spends a lot of time with me…????” I lead on.

“Hmmmm…………” my brother thinks. Idiot. But I love him anyways. "Hanamura-san??" 

"Chigusa-san? No." I laugh. And then frustration gets the better of me. "AHHH!!! I can’t take it anymore! It’s [f/n]-chan! [F/N]-chan! My best friend.” I exclaim in impatience.

And then I can see the light bulb moment in his head as his red eyes go wide. “Are you serious? [F/N]-chan?!? No way… I mean she’s cute and all but I would never have thought he would have liked her. Has he told her or has she told him?”

“Are you serious?”, I ask incredulously, “Do you think either of them would confess? First of all, [f/n] thinks that Tachibana-senpai and Nanase-senpai are together. And two, she’s not the type to confess. And I don’t know much about Tachibana-senpai, but he seems just as clueless about her feelings. So, no they don’t know about each other’s feelings.”

“BAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!” my brother just busts out laughing. “She thinks he’s gay?!? HAHAHA!!!” he’s laughing so hard tears are pricking at the corner of his eyes.

“Can you blame her? They are always together. They are basically attached at the hip. If we didn’t know them, I bet we would think they were together romantically too. But we know they are just best friends.” I try to explain to him.

My brother tries to catch his breath, “True, true. So what did you want me to do with this information?”

“So…. this is where I need your help.” I smirk.

“Oh no!" he starts to back up, "I’m not helping you with your scheme. I know that look. I’m not doing it.”, he turns and almost leaves my room. I grab his wrist.

“Please Onii-san! I need your help! You know those two wouldn’t get anywhere without a little push!”

“Don’t you think they should get together on their own??”, He asks me.

“But [f/n]-chan is fine with the way things are. And I bet Tachibana-san is the same way. They just need a little push and then the rest is up to them. I won’t mess with this again if it doesn’t work out. Please!!!” I beg.

“No!” he argues.

“Please!!! I’ll do your chores for a week!” I see his resolve start to weaken. Yes! I’ve got him now. “Please?” I look up at him through my eyelashes trying to pull off my best puppy dog eyes.

“FINE!!! I’ll help you in your stupid plan. But you’re doing my chores for a week and we get to watch what I want for a week too. With NO complaining.” He demands.

Damn. I didn’t expect this one. The things I sacrifice for my best friend. “Fine. I agree to your terms.”

“Okay, what’s the plan?” he asks. I go on to explain what I had in mind.

THE SWIMMING TOURNAMENT:

[F/N]-chan still has no idea what is going on. She’s suspected a little but not the full extent. I don’t think she knows how deep she really is. She has just realized Makoto-senpai is swimming in the relay and her reaction is priceless. If I hadn’t grabbed her arm I bet she would have fallen forward and truly embarrassed herself.

But all these muscles are making it hard to concentrate. The race is really close and exhilarating. It’s hard for me to not to get excited myself but I have a mission I have to concentrate on. My brother and the others win the relay and I stand up and scream in the excitement. [f/n]-san and I head to the lobby to wait for my brother (and the others unbeknownst to [f/n]). We even plan to go get something to eat after the tournament. This is going even better than I expected. I start texting my brother to set up the plan.

 

> _ME: Onii-san, congrats on winning! I knew you could do it! Phase 1 is being initiated. Meet us in the lobby. Bring the guys. We’re going to go get something eat to celebrate your win!_
> 
> _ONII-SAN: Thanks Gou. I still can’t believe I’m going through with this. I’ll bring them and tell them we’re going to out to celebrate our win._
> 
> _ME: Thanks. And its Kou. >.< _
> 
> _ONII-SAN: Just remember our deal._
> 
> _ME: I know, I know. A promise is a promise._
> 
> _ONII-SAN: We’re on our way._

* * *

Kou sees her brother and locks her phone, “Onii-san! We’re over here.”, and she waves him down. Her brother is still too far away for me to see, so I wait patiently. Finally, I see the trademark red hair of the Matsuokas. First I see Rin and then I see three boys behind him. The one directly behind Rin is a blonde boy with magenta eyes, he’s the shortest on the 4 boys. Behind the blonde is boy with black hair and eyes blue like the ocean. He’s the most stoic of the group, his face looks devoid of emotion, but I think if you got to know him there’s more to him than meets the eye. And then my eyes naturally went to the boy right behind him. I would know him from anywhere. That olive brown hair, emerald green eyes that slightly creases when he smiles, that tall stature that I think most girls would fall for. Tachibana Makoto.

I can feel my cheeks start to warm and its traveling all the down the back of my neck. I need to get better control of my emotions. Makoto-senpai finally sees me and I can see the realization of who is with Kou-chan in his face. His eyes widen a little bit and I wonder why he seems so surprised.

“Uh-hmm” Kou coughs, “You might not want to stare so long.” Which makes me blush harder, so I look down and tug at my shirt. I really he doesn’t see the way my face is turning pink.

“Hey Onee-san! Congrats guys on the win! You guys were awesome!” Kou quickly saves me. I mouth “Thank You” to her. She just nods.

“Thanks Gou! It really was something else huh?” Rin ponders to himself. She playfully hits him in the arm, “It’s Kou!”

She straightens up, “Oh by the way, this is my best friend [l/n] [f/n]. She came with me to watch the tournament. It’s her first time seeing a tournament in person before but I think she’s having fun.”

I nod, “Yeah, it was really exhilarating. You guys did really well. Congratulations on the win.”, I tell them. Man that sounded really stinted, I need to relax! Breathe.

“Oh [f/n]” Kou starts to introduce everyone “I should probably introduce everyone." she points to the boy that looks like her,  "This is my brother Matsuoka Rin, but you probably already know him.” She giggles.

“And this is Hazuki Nagisa-kun,” she points to blonde, “He swam the breaststroke.” Hazuki-senpai leans forward with his hands behind his back. “You can call me Nagisa, [f/n]-chan!” [f/n]-chan? I just look at him. “You’ll get used to it.” Kou whispers to me. I just nod in assurance.

“And this is Nanase Haruka, he swam the freestyle. All he does is swim free.” She giggles. I notice Rin is laughing a little too. Must be an inside joke. He nods to me, “Konichiwa [l/n]-san” he looks at me and then looks back to the side. I just nod to him. I think most people would think it was rude but I kind of saw it reassuring, like he wasn’t judging me. I breathed a sigh of relief. For some reason he was the one I was most nervous to meet. He was Makoto-senpai’s best friend and maybe boyfriend, I kind of wanted his approval.

“And this is…” Kou starts but she gets interrupted. “Tachibana Makoto”, he finishes. My eyes just naturally fall to his. All of sudden it’s like no one else is there, just Makoto-senpai and myself. “I think we’ve met before. The first day of classes, correct?” I wanted to say yes but my mouth just wouldn’t work. Come on! “Yyyyes.” I stutter. He just smiles brightly and I get lost in his eyes. We haven’t been this close since the first day of classes. I don’t have the facilities to handle those eyes just yet, they’re dangerous!

“Ahem...” Kou clears her throat. We both blush, me a little more so, it’s so embarrassing to get caught like that.

“Well,” I start and clear my throat, “I really wanted to congratulate you four, your turns and relays were really fluid. I can tell you trained really hard for this. You guys seemed like naturals together in the water.”, I congratulate them.

Nanase-senpai just slowly turns his head to me in surprise and Rin’s eyes widen. They all seem surprised. “You know about swimming?” Rin asks me dumbfounded.

Well I guess I’ve never really talked about swimming around him. Kou knows of course, she asked me one time at lunch. She was talking about her brother and how much he loved swimming and how it was kind of a family tradition. How their late father swam at Iwatobi and wanted to be in Olympics and now Rin was trying to finish his father’s dream. When she would talk about it, she was surprised I actually knew the terms she was talking about.

“Well yeah, I used to swim competitively at my old school. I only swim as a hobby now though.” I tell them. Their eyes just go wide, even Kou’s. I hadn’t told her I swam competitively, just that I swam.

“You never told me that,” Kou breathes out.

“Well you didn’t really ask and I don’t really like talking about it.” I confess. “Oh and I have been to a tournament before, I just have never been a spectator." I whisper, "Sorry I didn’t tell you.”

“It’s okay,” she starts sounding a little dejected, “You must have your reasons. But if you ever want to talk about it, you know you can talk to me.” She smiles at me. I'm gonna have to thank her later for being so understanding. I’m so glad she isn’t mad at me, its just not something I like to think about. I'm also glad they aren't asking about why I don't swim anymore. I really don't want to talk about what happened that day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading the 7th chapter! We're starting to learn more about the protagonist's past. 
> 
> The next chapter I will upload 2. Had to split it up since it was so long. Hope to see you in the next chapter.
> 
> My [tumblr](http://dianexchan.tumblr.com)


	8. The Past: The Fateful Tournament

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The tournament that changed your life forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since this part of the story took a little while to explain I'm going to be posting two chapters. Its a little angsty but I'll make it fluffy again. I promise!

**_ Elementary-Year Four _ **

I’m on the starting block, crouching down, and I pull on the swim goggles. I do my breathing exercises to calm down my heart and I close my eyes to focus. I block out the crowds and just focus on myself and then water. I breathe my last deep breath and then I hear the starting bell and dive into the water. 

There is nothing like this feeling of the water surrounding you. The feeling of acceptance if you just accept the water. That there is nothing to fear if you accept it and don’t fight. It keeps me calm as I swim the race. I’m swimming freestyle and I look to my left and then my right, I’m in second place. I could easily take 1st place if I wanted, I wasn’t swimming at my full speed, but I really just like swimming. 

I easily get caught up in the excitement around me and I easily landed first place. I look up at the time board and smile and I can hear my school screaming. Next is the Medley Relay that my mom had me join, she said the teamwork would help me out. I don’t know what with but I decided to give it a try. 

I pull myself out of the pool and head to the lockers to get ready for the next race. Sometimes I didn’t like these relays. The win all lands on my shoulders, if I don’t do well the blame will fall to me. It’s a lot of stress for a 9-year-old girl but I didn’t want to let my team down.  

I hear over the intercom to gather for the Medley Relay, so I sigh and head to the pool. I see my team at our starting block and nod to them and try to smile. They don’t even acknowledge me. I hate this, they act like I don’t exist. I know the coach only got happy when I said I wanted to try this because he felt like he could get a win. No one tried to get to know me, no one wanted to. 

6 MONTHS EARLIER

One day while I was in the locker room getting dressed after practice I overheard some of the other girls talking. 

_ “[l/n]-san really shouldn’t be swimming with us. It’s not like she’s one of us. She just comes and swims and then leaves. Even if she tried to be friends with us, I don’t think we could.” One girl says to her friend.  _

_ “Yeah, you’re right. She’s just really weird. Who loves swimming THAT much? I don’t even know why coach lets her be on the team. Just because she can swim? So what, we can swim too. She’s only here to win tournaments. Everyone knows it.” The other girl replied.  _

I couldn’t listen anymore. I wiped the tears from my face and put on a brave face. I stuffed my suit, towel, cap, and goggles in my gym bag and headed for the exit. Once one the girls saw me she gasped, “Do you think she heard us?”

“No I don’t think so. And even if she did, maybe she would quit.” The other girl retorted. She didn’t even feel any remorse for what she had said. 

I didn’t cry at all walking out of the gym and told my coach bye. “We’ll see you tomorrow?” the coach asks me as I leave. I just look back and smile, “Yes sir, I’ll be here tomorrow at 3pm. Well my mother is waiting, thanks for your time.” I bow and walk out. I was really trying not to run, I needed to be strong until no one saw me. My mom wasn’t waiting for me; she was working until 10pm tonight. 

I decided to take the long way home, through the park. I was walking brusquely and finally came to the park. It was really beautiful and no one from my swim team came here. In the spring the cherry blossom tree would bloom and look like pink fairies playing in the wind. The swings were my favorite, they calmed me down after a long swim practice and made me not feel as lonely on the days my mom worked late. 

I found my favorite swing and sat down and started to swing myself back and forth. I eventually let myself cry. The tears just fell down my face as I swung myself. How could they be so cruel? Am I that weird? I just really love the water and I just happened to be a little better at it than most. I wasn’t that great. Should I quit the club? But as soon as I thought that I felt a deep pain in my heart. That would mean I couldn’t swim anymore. No, I had to deal with it and be strong. And that is what I did. I didn’t tell my mom about it, my so-called friend, or my coach. I kept it to myself and dealt with my team even though I know they hated me.

I shook my head. Why was I thinking of that now? I have a race to win, I need to focus. I hear the bell for the first swimmer to start swimming the Butterfly. I patiently wait my turn and watch my team. They weren’t bad but we were falling behind. It was going to be up to me again. I watched as the Breaststroke swimmer swam and then the Backstroke swimmer dove in and turned around to get into position. Once the breaststroke swimmer touched the wall the Backstroke was off. She wasn’t bad gaining a little of time that we had lost. I stepped up to the starting block. I was watching her trying not remember what her and the girl that swam breaststroke said about me.

She touched the wall and I dove in with perfect form. I let the water surround me and carved my way through the water with each stroke. I looked around and we were pretty behind so I started swimming with medium speed, easily catching up. I decided to push it a little farther as I did my turn. I was half-way back when I felt a sharp pain in my right calf. My body just curled up on itself in the fetal position. It the midst of this intense pain I remember I had forgot to stretch before I got into the pool. I was so caught up in my thoughts that I had forgotten to stretch my muscles and now they were seizing up. Each pulse of pain in my leg sent me deeper and deeper into the water. I tried reaching for the surface but my body wouldn’t let me.

_ You can do this [f/n]. This is just a muscle cramp. You can finish the race. Just work through the pain. It’ll be over soon. You’re a quarter away from the finish. You can’t disappoint the team. _ I just chant this over and over until the pain slowly ebbs.

I mentally breathe and stretch out my leg and arms. I was going to swim with my left leg and forget I had a right one. It was incredibly difficult but I eventually got to the finish and looked up and just saw looks of disgust. I then looked over at the board, we were in last place. Well crap, we lost. I tried to pull myself up, it was hard but I eventually got out of the pool. I used the starting block as leverage and tried hobbling over to the wall. I almost got there but I started to fall. I braced my face for impact with the concrete floor. But the pain in my face never came.  I felt the motion of the air past my face as I fell but then I just suddenly stopped. I slowly opened my eyes and the person that had caught me was none other than my mom.

“Okaa-san?!?” I exclaimed. “What are you doing here!?”

I could see the worry in her face. “I came to surprise you. But when I saw you just freeze on that last lap I just ran down here. Luckily I got here just in time. What’s wrong??” 

“Nothing mom, I’m just” I wince at a sudden throb of pain, “fine. Just a leg cramp.”

“Just a leg cramp my butt, sit down and let me see your leg.” My mom orders.

I was about to obey when I see my coach and my three teammates walking towards me. The anger in their face was unmistakable. “WHAT WAS THAT [F/N]-san?!?! YOU COST US THE RACE!” my coach fumes. 

I look down in shame and whisper, “Sumimasen.”

“That isn’t good enough, after the tournament meet me and your TEAM in the lockers.” My coach orders.

“Why don’t we just tell her now?” one of the girls speaks up. My coach’s eyes widen. It seems he doesn’t know how they feel about me. I just look to the side and bite my lip. I’m really trying not to cry.

“Yeah let’s tell her now, what’s the harm? The other two girls agree.

“But…we should tell her in private.” My coach interrupts.

“It’s okay Sensei, I already know what you’re going to say. I’ve known for a while now.” I assure him.

His eyes soften a little. Just for a second, I think I’m the only one who noticed. To me it was him saying he was sorry. His eyes harden in the next second. “Okay I guess we’ll tell you now. After this loss, the team and I talked and came to a decision. You don’t work well with the team, you’re performance has been dropping lately, and I just don’t think you fit well with us as a team. We are going to have to cut you from the team.” 

“WHAT?!?!?” My mom screams.

“Kaa-san…” I plead with her as I pull on her arm. We really didn’t need a scene. But I think this anger could not be contained. When my mom got angry, there wasn’t much you could do until it passed. 

“So you’re going to cut her from the team after she loses once?!? After she injures herself, no less??” my mom starts. There’s no stopping her now. 

“Injure?” my coach asks.

Wrong question. “Yes, INJURE. Did you not see her limping while you were having your ‘team meeting'? Or did you not see her swimming in pain?” My mother is now seething. 

My coach finally looks down at my legs. My right leg is seized up from the cramp and won’t go down. No matter how I try it just won’t move. It just stays curled up behind me. I’ll just have to soak in hot water when I get home. 

“Kaa-san,” I gently grab her arm and she looks down at me, “Its okay. If this is what they want that’s okay. I was thinking of quitting soon anyways. It’s no big deal.” I force a smile and I hope it gets across that this isn’t worth the scene that’s going on right now. I just want to go home and soak my leg. She seems to understand. She just nods to me and looks back up. 

“Fine. If this is what she wants.” She starts to pick me up. “We’re leaving after the medal ceremony.” She walks off carrying me to where the medal ceremony is. I did win freestyle in the individual race. “Do you think you can stand up there or do you want to head home?” 

“I want to do this. It’s my last medal anyways. I want to stand up there with everyone else.”, I tell her with resolve. She helps me up to the tallest platform when they are announcing the freestyle winners. I stand tall and proud as they place the medal around my neck. It was a bittersweet moment; I had won yes but I probably wouldn’t swim competitively for a long time. A tear escapes my eyes but I don’t let anymore fall. I don’t want to give those girls the satisfaction of knowing what they did affected me so much. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's chapter 8 and I'll be posting the second half too.  
> Poor reader but things are starting to look up for her now. :)
> 
> Thanks for reading.   
> My [tumblr](http://dianexchan.tumblr.com/)


	9. The Past: Tragedy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You get some news from the doctor at the hospital.

I don’t even stay for the rest of the ceremony. There really wasn’t much point and I could tell my mom was getting more worried about me by the minute. To be honest, I was too. My leg should have relaxed by now; the pain should have subsided a little bit. “[f/n], I know you wanted to go home and just take care of this yourself but I don’t think this is just a leg cramp. I don’t think you think it is either. We’re going to the hospital to have one of the doctors look at it.” 

I just look down, “I really think I’ll be okay if I just soak it when I get home.” 

“Let me be mom this time, okay [f/n]-chan?” she softens. “I’m really hoping it’s just a leg cramp but I would rather be safe than sorry.”

I smile softly, “Okay Kaa-san, at least maybe they’ll give me some pain medication.”

She helps me to the locker and helps me stand while I get dressed. Tears prick at the edges of my eyes as I try to straighten my leg to put my shorts on. I then put my shirt on quickly and my mom grabs my gym bag and helps me to her car. She sits me in the back seat so I can stretch my leg out and she throws my gym bag in the front seat. My leg still won’t stretch out very far without intense pain but I can stretch a little so I can sit down. 

My mom gets in and starts to drive to her work. I can see her worry from the backseat; I really wish I didn’t worry her this much. I then look down at my right leg. It’s mainly covered by the shadows of the car but then the sunlight hits it just right and I can see a deep purple bruise forming on my calf. I gasp but I try not to be too loud. There is no way this is just a leg cramp; maybe this is what my mom was worried about. I may have really messed up my leg.

I can feel the car beginning to slow down as my mom parks her car. She turns her head back to me, looks down at my leg and I can see how worried she is in her face. I just turn my head and try not to cry. This isn’t a leg cramp and I can’t deny it any longer. 

“I’m going to go get a wheelchair and I’ll be right back.” She tells me before she leaves. 

Now I’m left with my thoughts, which I was not wanting to do, I was hoping to think about this later tonight. What was I going to do now that I couldn’t swim? Maybe I could swim as a hobby, if this leg would allow it. I guess only time will tell. No use in worrying about things I know nothing about yet. 

I then here my mom opening the back door closest to my feet. When she gets the door open I start to scoot towards the open door until my feet are hanging out. Then my mom is there to help me stand and she helps me get into the wheelchair and then pulls down the footrests so I can rest my foot if I needed to. My leg still wouldn’t stretch out all the way so, it was still bent at the knee a little bit. She rolls me into the hospital and into the waiting room. 

“I’m going to fill out all the paperwork and then I’ll be back. Do you think you will be okay?” my mom asks voice filled with worry.

“Yeah Kaa-san. I’m not dying, I’ll be fine. Do what you need to, I’ll be right here.” I nod to her and she walks off. She seems a little pleased I’m being my usual sarcastic self.

I see some magazines next to me but none of them interest me. I start to think again what I’m going to do and even if I want to continue swimming. True I do love swimming but recently I’ve been miserable doing it. Maybe I just need a break. What was I going to do with my free time now that I can’t do that? I do like drawing maybe I can do that. Who was I kidding? I was going to miss swimming; It’s a part of me. I can feel the tears forming, so I just look up at the lights and they pass. I can hear the footsteps of my mom. 

“I just filled out the paperwork and they need to check your vitals and then we’ll see the doctor.”  My mom explains to me as she rolls me to the nurse’s station. “Hopefully we won’t have to wait long.”

I nod in agreement and the nurses take my vitals. Blood pressure, temperature, heart rate, all of it. They then ask the normal question of what happened and what was wrong. I proceed to explain what happened. That I forgot to stretch before the race, how I thought I had just pulled my muscle, and how now I didn’t believe that to be the case. They let me explain writing everything down on the chart and then sent me back to the waiting room where they said they would call me when the doctor is waiting.

My mom and I eventually get called back to the ER and we finally got to see the doctor. I tell him everything I told the nurses and he looks at my calf and luckily doesn’t he doesn’t touch it. “From what I can tell, this definitely isn’t just a muscle tear. I won’t know for sure without sending you in for an MRA. Then we’ll know where to go from there. Right now I’m going to have the nurse give you some pain medication to some of the edge off, that must painful.”

I nod my head, “Thank you, sensei.” With that he turned out of the room and I was left there with my mom. 

“Why didn’t you stretch [f/n]?” She finally asks. That is the one question I didn’t want to answer. I really didn’t want to tell her the answer. It’s only going to bring up hurtful things; but from the look in her eyes she wasn’t going to let this drop. 

I took a deep breath. “Because I was thinking about what happened after the race.” She just looked at me in confusion. I looked down. “About 6 months ago I heard those other three girls talking about me in the locker room. How I wasn’t needed there, that no one liked me, and the coach only put me on the team so that they could win. How I should quit since no liked me.” My mom’s eyes hardened slightly, “I decided then that I wouldn’t let it bother me. Yes, it hurt but I was going to act like it didn’t happen. I would keep swimming because I love to swim. But, I also knew that if I screwed up one time those girls would try to kick me off the team. And it turns out I was right.”

“That doesn’t excuse what they did [f/n].” my mom flatly said.

“I know, but I really wanted to swim and be useful to the team. When I joined the relay team they really weren’t happy and they were making me feel miserable but I wasn’t going to let them win. So, I went to practice every day but as you heard the stress I was under affected my performance. I was starting to not like swimming anymore. I’m actually kind of relieved they cut me from the team but I really am going to miss swimming.”

“So when the Medley Relay was starting I was thinking about what they said and I totally forgot to stretch and now I’m paying for it. I just hope the damage isn’t permanent.” I finish with tears pricking at my eyes. 

All of sudden I felt my mom’s arms around my neck. “You’re so strong [f/n]-chan. Let me take some of that stress off your shoulders. That’s what I’m here for,” she whispers in my ear. My tears just start to fall. I can’t stop them now. “It’s okay. Cry as much as you need, I’m here.”

After I feel like I’m going to be okay I start to wipe my face with my sleeve. “Could you hand me a tissue?” I ask my mom. She holds out the box behind her to me and take two tissues and blow my nose. She hands me the trash can and I throw them away. That was when the nurse walked in.

“We’re going to take you to the MRA room right now. How is the pain?” the nurse asks me. Obviously noticing I’ve been crying but not mentioning it, thankfully.

“It’s a little better since the pain medication,” I tell her as she gets the wheelchair ready for me. I look down at my leg again the bruise got a little worse, it’s the size of a softball now. I’m really worried about my leg now, hopefully after this MRA the doctor can tell me some good news. Any news would be great instead of me just sitting here worrying about the what ifs.

They take me to the room with the MRA machine. They lay me down and luckily only the lower half of my body has to go in. It was extremely loud but luckily the procedure doesn’t take long and not long I’m back in the hospital room looking at my doctor. He has my medical charts and MRA images in his hands. He puts on his glasses and looks them over and then after an excruciating 5 minutes he looks over his glasses at my mom and I.

“I have bad news and good news. Which one would you like first?” he asks me. 

“I would rather have the bad news first, to get it out of the way.” I tell him truthfully.

He takes off his glasses and sighs. “Well I knew when you came in that you had not simply pulled a muscle. The bruising on your calf is indicative of a muscle tear. The only question was how bad was the tear in your calf. It actually is a level 3 muscle tear. You’re going to have to have surgery to fix it.”

My eyes just widen; shock was setting in. “And the good news??” I swallow.

“Well, if you do as I prescribe you will make a full recovery.” He tells me brightly. “Now don’t get me wrong, you are very lucky. This could have turned out much worse, so don’t forget to stretch from now on. And stretch properly; don’t rush it. The next time you will have to have surgery again and you may not be able to play sports again.” He warned me.

“So I will be able to swim again?” I ask him hopeful.

“Yes, but not right away. We are going to set up your surgery for as soon as possible. We are going to put you in rehabilitation and you’ll be walking in splint for 4-8 weeks. We’re also going to prescribe you an anti-inflammatory drug to help with the swelling and pain. If you want to be able to swim, just do as I say and you will have a full recovery. Promise me you won’t do anything athletic until I give the approval.” He looks me dead in the eye.

It’s not like I’m going to break this promise. I’m giving up on sports for right now. I don’t find it fun anymore. I’ll just have to find a less strenuous hobby. Drawing or painting perhaps. “I promise sensei. I’ll go to rehab and take my medicine as prescribed.” I say as I bow my head.

“Okay, good.” He smiles at me. “We’re going to send the nurse in to schedule the surgery. It would be best to have the surgery as soon as possible. This week if possible. She is also going to have you in a splint and bring you some crutches. I don’t want you walking on that leg at all.”

“Thank you, sensei.” I thank him. He stands up and starts to leave “You’re welcome [l/n]-san, just take care of yourself. Okay?” I nod to him and he leaves.

After about 10 minutes the nurse walks in with the splint for my leg and the crutches. “Have you ever walked in crutches before?” she asks me.

“No, I haven’t. This is my first time.” I confess. 

“Okay, it isn’t that hard. How tall are you?”

“[Your Height]” I answer her.

“Hmm...” she nods and adjusts the height of the crutches. She then lays the them against the wall and pulls out the splint that in a box. She loosens the brace and my mom takes off my shoe. She puts on the brace and it’s more like a boot. I wince as the nurse puts my leg into the boot, but once she gets it secure the pain subsides.

“Sorry if that hurt.” She apologizes and then she shows me how to operate the crutches. “The only thing is don’t move too fast. People around you can wait, your health comes first.”

“Yes, Nakamura-san?” I read her nametag.

“Yes Nakamura Saiko-san. Thanks for listening and if you want to try out the crutches in the hall you’re more than welcome to but I would suggest taking the wheelchair to the lobby so that you don’t fall.” She tells me. “Now when would you like to schedule the appointment for the surgery? The sooner it is the better.”

My mom and Nakamura-san talk about the details of my surgery and I’ll be having the surgery the next day. I decide to take her advice and practice with the crutches in the hall before heading out of the hospital. My mom watched me the whole time to make sure I didn’t fall. She then helped me into the wheelchair and followed me to lobby while holding my crutches. The main desk got us signed out and gave my mom my prescription for ibuprofen. 

We get home and have dinner and then I go to bed. My mom comes to help me and sits down on the bed with me. “I’m really glad we went to the hospital, at least now you will make a full recovery. Just promise me not scare me again like that.”

“I won’t. I’m probably not going to swim for a while just to be safe.” “I know I haven’t gotten to say this yet but thanks for coming to the tournament. It really meant a lot to me.” I thank her. 

I can see a faint blush on her cheeks. “It’s no problem. I liked that I was able to come. I wish I could have seen more of your tournaments. I was and am so proud of you. We can hang up your medal if you want.”

“Not right now. I’m getting really tired. It’s been a long day.” I yawn.

“Okay I’ll let you get some sleep. You have a big day tomorrow. The surgery is at 9am.” She informs me. 

“Mmhmm…” I just say as I drift off to sleep.

When I go back to school I limp in and try to find my friend to sit with at lunch. I look everywhere and then I find her sitting with the girls that got me off the swim team.

I wait until lunch is over and head to my next class in which I sit next to her. She finally enters the classroom smiling until she sees me. Then she looks to the side trying not to make eye contact with me. What was with this change??

“Konichiwa Maeda-san” I greet her. She looks everywhere but my direction. “I missed you at lunch today. I hope you are doing okay.” Silence. “Maeda-san are you okay??” 

“Will you be quiet?” she just snaps at me. The dejection hurts. “I can’t be friends with you anymore. If that is what you would call that. You just don’t have the reputation that I need around me anymore. Yukimura-san, Hinata-san, and Ishii-san do.”

I just swallowed my tears down, “Okay Maeda-san. If that is what you want.” I just smile at her. Kill them with kindness, as they say.

The rest of the year and the year after that played out the same way. I didn’t get back into sports. I went to rehab every day and within the three months my leg was fully healed. I still didn’t swim. It just hurt too much to think about. I would take extra-long baths to compensate but, it just wasn’t the same.

I think my mom noticed my depression. How I didn’t seem as happy as usual. That I didn’t talk about Maeda-san anymore. I think she noticed but she also noticed I didn’t want to talk about it. I was glad of that, I didn’t really want to talk about it. After dinner one night, that she had prepared, she cleared her throat. 

“I have announcement to make, and I want your input on it. Just tell me the truth and I will honestly take it into consideration.” She’s really making a big to-do about this.

“Yes… go on…” I lead.

“I found a new job. It pays a little less but I would have the weekends off and I would get off earlier.” She tells me plainly looking down at me sheepishly.

“Really mom? That’s great! Are you thinking of taking it?” I ask her.

“The thing is the job is at the Iwatobi General Hospital. Which would also mean we would have to move. I’m just wondering if that is what you want. If you don’t want to move just tell me. Like I said, I will listen to you. I’ve noticed you’ve been down since your injury, maybe a change of pace will help you out.” She softens at her last sentence.

So she has noticed. Have I been that depressed? That I didn’t hide it anymore? _Sigh._

“Kaa-san, I really think this is a great opportunity for you. I really don’t mind moving. Maeda-san has moved on and I think I should too. I say let’s grab this opportunity and move to a new place!” I smile at the end.

She caught that one sentence about Maeda-san but didn’t say anything about it. She only widened her eyes a little bit. She closes her eyes and breathes, “Alright, I’ll give both hospitals notice of my transfer and we’ll be moving after this school year. I don’t want you moving in the middle of the year, it’s too stressful. For both me and you.” 

So that summer we started moving to Iwatobi and I thought this would be a wonderful new start. What I didn’t know was, in that moment, how true that was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The poor protagonist. I don't know why I do this to her. But I promise its what makes her the person she is. 
> 
> I'm starting to think I probably should have made this an independent character. She's kind of taking a life of her own. 
> 
> My [tumblr](http://dianexchan.tumblr.com/)


	10. Tournament Celebration

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You celebrate the guys win at a barbeque restaurant and you get to sit next to Makoto. The guys also learn a little bit more about you.

We had decided to go to a barbeque restaurant to celebrate. The restaurant wasn’t too far so we decided to walk there.

Kou was walking with her brother, Nagisa-san and Nanase-senpai were walking together, which left Makoto-senpai to walk with me. Needless to say I was nervous. But as I thought about it, this seemed to planned to perfectly, like someone was behind it. Only one person would do that. Matsuoka Kou. I stared ahead and shot daggers into the back of her head.

She promised not to interfere and here she was doing it. But now that I’m here, I kind of don’t mind it right now. At least I get to stand next to him. But at the same time standing next to him is making my heart hammer faster than ever before. This night was taking an unexpected turn.

“So did you enjoy the tournament?” I hear Makoto-senpai ask me.

“Oh,” he brought me out of my thoughts, “oh yes I did. It was really exhilarating. We were a little late though, I wish we could have gotten to have seen everyone’s race.” _He is really talking to me!_

“Oh,” he starts, “when did you guys show up?”

“Right when Nagisa-san’s race started.” Crap, I basically just said I missed his race and that I really wanted to see it. That’s what I had dressed up for basically. Was that too forward? _Crap. Crap. Crap._

“Oh, so you only missed the Butterfly and Backstroke events. That’s not too bad. I swam Backstroke and Rin swam Butterfly. He won of course but I didn’t advance.” He explains.

“It does matter!” I exclaim. I can see Nanase-senpai look back. Makoto-senpai's eyes widened. “It does matter,” I continue softer this time, “You all trained really hard for this. I wanted to be here to see the fruits of your training.”

I think I can see a faint blush on his cheeks and he looks away. “It's just when I used to swim no one would come see me and I don’t want anyone to go through what I went through.” I whisper.

* * *

  ** _Makoto POV_ **

That last response took me aback and my heart softened a little. I turn my head back to her and thank her. What had she gone through? I wanted to know but I didn’t want to force it out of her. I wanted her to tell me in her own time.

Man, did she look beautiful tonight. I had never seen her in casual clothes other than her school uniform. I had always imagined going on a date with her. Taking her to a movie, going to dinner afterwards and then taking a walk in the park with her on the way home. There we would both have our first kiss. I would always imagine the date but she would be in different clothes. But I never imagined her dressed like this. It seems to fit her well though. The plaid button up seems to complement her eyes. I can see she’s wearing some makeup but not too much. It fits her look. And her jeans, they hug her every curve. Her hips, legs, and….

I shake my head inwardly. This is no time to be daydreaming. I was already starting to feel some warmth in my pants so I needed to focus on something else. It was going to be difficult but I needed to try but God was she breathtaking. I was going to have to thank Gou-san later.

“Well we better catch up with the others or they are going to leave us behind.” I mention to her. She finally looks up and seems surprised at how far away we are from the others.

“You're right! How did we get so far behind?” she wonders.

I chuckle. It seems like she forgot everyone else was there. Like we were the only two there. That kind of makes me happy because I feel like that a lot of the time when I look for her in the mornings at school.

“Let’s go,” I grab her wrist, but really wanting to grab her hand, and speed walk to the restaurant. I really hope it wasn’t too forward but I really wanted to touch her since I saw her tonight. Just the skin on her wrist feels so soft. Like the soft glow of an Angel’s skin. So warm and soft. I just wanted to feel more.

She laughs as we run to the restaurant and it’s the most beautiful sound in the world. I could listen to her laugh and voice forever. It’s like music to my ears. We regretfully reach the restaurant and we see everybody else is waiting for us outside.

“Hurry up! I’m starving!” Rin jokes with us. He and Haru look down at our hands. I fidget a little.

“We’re coming!”, she chimes beside me.

Gou pointedly looks at our hands and raises an eyebrow. I quickly let go of her wrist and Gou chuckles. If I’m not mistaken [f/n]-Chan looks a little sad about it too. Huh.

We all head inside and get a table for the six of us. From the way Rin and Gou sat down it looked like they planned it this way. Gou sat beside her brother and Nagisa sat next to him. On the opposite side sat Haru, then me and [f/n]-Chan next to me. I was starting to see a pattern. A pattern that Gou-san had put together.

* * *

 

 We got to the restaurant and my heart was still beating from not only the running but the extended amount of contact with Makoto-senpai today. Not to mention he grabbed my wrist! I just wanted to grab my face because it was so hot. When we finally get seated it turns out I’m sitting next to Makoto-senpai again. I’m not surprised, Kou-chan's plan must go pretty far though. I made sure this time to talk to everyone and not just Makoto-senpai this time. I asked them all kind of questions and I answered theirs.

“Nanase-senpai…” I start.

“Just call me Haru.” He deadpans.

“Oh..okay. Haru-senpai…,” I just couldn’t drop the honorific. It just seemed rude. “When did you start swimming competitively?”

“Just Haru is fine. As soon as I could swim in a pool. But I only swim free.” He tells me. I just nod. Everyone else chuckles around me. I grab some meat with my chopsticks and continue eating.

“[F/N]-Chan when did you start swimming?” Nagisa-senpai asks me. I could feel Makoto tense up beside me.

“The same as Haru-senpai. I’ve loved the water ever since I could remember. I feel more at home there.”

“Hmm…,” Nagisa-kun swallowed, “What school did you go to before Iwatobi?”

I could feel the tenseness around the table. This soon could go to a place I didn’t want it to go.  I had to be careful. “Iruka Swimming Academy,” I admit.

I can hear the gasps around the table. Of course they would know what school was. They were all swimmers. It was one of the top swimming schools in the country for girls.

“Wait!” Rin interrupts and stands up, “You're THE [l/n] [f/n]?!? From Iruka Academy?!? That won all sorts of medals for freestyle and Medley Relay? The one that….”

I bit my lip and looked to my left. This is exactly where I didn’t want this to go. I didn’t want to talk about this just yet. I knew I had won a lot of medals but I didn’t keep count. That wasn’t what was important to me. Of course people would have heard of me. I needed to get away, I couldn’t face this just yet. I was about to say I needed to head to the bathroom I hear Rin.

“Ouch!” I hear Rin exclaim. Kou must have stomped on his foot, “What was that for?!?” Rin glares down at her.

“Rin, I think that is enough. [F/N]-chan doesn’t want to talk about it right now.” I hear Makoto-senpai’s stern voice.

I’m surprised and I blush. How did he know that I didn’t want to talk about it? I keep it hidden pretty well. Even Kou hasn’t noticed. She’ll ask me questions about my past but I just change the subject. He also just said my first name for the first time and I don’t think he even realized it. Everyone went silent. And then all of a sudden Makoto-senpai notices it.

“Oh, I’m so sorry [l/n]-Chan!”, he throws up his hands, “I didn’t even ask if it was okay to call you that. It just kind of slipped out. Gomen.” He bows his head to me which makes me blush even more.

“It’s okay!”, I put up my hands. Man my face feels like it is on fire. “Don’t worry about it. You can call me that, I don’t mind.” I assure him. He just looks up and smiles a blinding smile.

“Well, let’s toast to a great victory and fun with friends!” Kou exclaims. Thankfully she changed the subject. I mouth ‘Thank You’ to her and she nods to me.

We all raise our glasses and clink them together. “Kanpai!” we exclaim together and then drink our glasses.

We laugh and have a fun time. Eventually, after our bellies are full, it’s time to go home. “Well,” Rin starts, “I guess we better head home.” I see him and Gou yawn. And with that we all went our separate ways.

“Hey Tachibana-senpai! Why don’t you walk [f/n]-Chan home so she doesn’t have to call her mom?” Kou suggests and then winks at me. She then runs after her brother

So this is what she planned. I was going to have to have a talk with her later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that's the end of chapter 10. They're starting to learn more about the protagonist but is she ready to open up to them yet? Keep reading to find out.
> 
> The fluff is starting to happen soon but bear with the angst just a little longer!


	11. The Walk Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “A little bit.” He smiles. I don’t think I will ever get used to that smile. It blows me away every time. “Um, if you don’t mind. Could I walk you home? I want to.”
> 
> I just nod my head yes. I was too nervous to speak. I’m surprised he couldn’t see me shaking, or hear my heartbeat for that matter. I finally muster up the courage to tell him the direction of my house. We then start an amazing walk along the seaside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long to update! I got engaged the last time I updated this! o(≧∇≦o) I've been so busy planning the wedding time just got away from me. Sorry for the wait!

“Hey Tachibana-senpai! Why don’t you walk [f/n]-Chan home so she doesn’t have to call her mom?” Kou suggests and then winks at me.

So this is what she planned. I was going to have to have a talk with her later.

I cough and stammer, “You, you don’t have to do that. Let me call my mom, she’s probably worried about me.”

“Um... I…” Makoto starts but I cut him off.

“Oh crap! I forgot to tell her we were going out after the tournament! I bet she’s worried sick. I was supposed to cook dinner and I hope she’s okay…” I start babbling as I take out my phone.

I unlock my phone and I have 2 unread messages. One from Kou and one from my mother.

_KOU:_

_Hey! Calm Down! I know you’re probably freaking out right now because you didn’t let your mom know you were with us. Don’t worry. I texted her on our way to the restaurant to let her know what was going on. It was while you two lovebirds were talking. ;)_

_Also, let him walk you home. Let him be a gentleman and walk a girl home. You better just let me know all the juicy details! You can thank me later. :)_

_MOM:_

_Hey don’t worry about me tonight. Just have fun with your new friends. I know you’re probably worrying about me but I can take care of myself. Have fun!_

_Love You,_

_Mom_

 

I swear my face has been every shade of red tonight; I’m surprised I’m not profusely sweating. “Is everything okay?” he asks me. I partially jump because I was deep in thought. Which worries him even more.

“Oh, yeah” I make out. “Yeah, apparently everything was taken care of.”

“By Gou-san” he assumes.

“Yeah, it’s that obvious huh?” I chuckle.

“A little bit.” He smiles. I don’t think I will ever get used to that smile. It blows me away every time. “Um, if you don’t mind. Could I walk you home? I want to.”

I just nod my head yes. I was too nervous to speak. I’m surprised he couldn’t see me shaking, or hear my heartbeat for that matter. I finally muster up the courage to tell him the direction of my house. We then start an amazing walk along the seaside.

**_Makoto POV_ **

I’m so glad she said I could walk her home. All I really wanted was to spend more time with her. Everything about her is so interesting. Her hobbies, her likes, her dislikes, what makes her happy, what makes her sad, all of it. I want to know all of it. Maybe it’s a little selfish, but a little selfishness can be forgiven right?

“So do you have any siblings?” I ask her.

“Oh, no I don’t. It’s just me and my mom. Sometimes I wish I did though. Someone to share my memories with.” She smiles at me. It’s blinding. “Well enough about me, what about you? What do you like to do other than swimming?” she asks me.

No one has really asked about me before; it kind of takes me aback. I clear my throat, “Oh well, I like to play with my little sister and brother Ran and Ren. They take up most of my time but I wouldn’t change it for the world.” I explain to her. And truthfully I wouldn’t. They may be a handful at times but they are my brother and sister and I love them.

“What?” she wonders.

“Oh, nothing.” I shake my head.

“Would you mind if we took the long way?” she asks me and then blushes.

“No I don’t mind, why?” I ask before I think. Did she really want to spend more time with me? No, that couldn’t be it.

Still blushing, “No reason, I just don’t want to go home just yet.” She whispers.

I nod to her and we head down by the ocean. I usually do this with Haru but this feels different. The way my heart is beating slightly faster, my palms are little sweaty, and I just can’t take my eyes off of her. It feels a little more intimate. The atmosphere just feels different, a little romantic if I can say that.

I take a deep breath. It’s now or never. “[f/n]-chan, I have a question. You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to, I’m just merely curious.” I start.

“Okay…”

“Um, would you mind telling me why you quit swimming? You seem to be a lot like Haru when it comes to swimming. Like it is a part of you, that’s hard to explain. But I couldn’t ever see Haru quit swimming.” I ask. I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. I did it, I asked her.

I turn to look at her. There is a look of pain in her eyes that I don’t want to see. She’s biting her lip as if to stop tears from forming. I didn’t want this. “You don’t have to tell me! If it hurts, and you’re not ready I understand.” I finish. I put up my hands wanting to comfort her but not knowing where to put them. Man I really shouldn’t have asked her. I don’t want to see her hurt or in anguish.

“No, it’s okay.” She surprises me. She sighs. “I think I do need to talk about it or I probably won’t get over it. And for some reason I feel really comfortable around you.” She breathes out.

“Are you sure? I don’t want to force you to do anything you are ready for.” I assure her.

She just nods. “Let’s sit down. It’s a pretty long story.” She heads over to a large tree and sits down looking out at the ocean. She looks like she misses it, the ocean that is. She breathes in and then lets the breath out. She starts her story.

“My mom put me in Iruka after finding out how much I love swimming and actually how good I actually was. I didn’t know I was good at the time, I just loved swimming; loved the way I felt in the water. When I went to join the swimming team at the school, I immediately made first pick on the swim team. I had the best times in freestyle; I won first place in every race I was in. The start of my 3rd year my mom suggested I join the Medley Relay team, hoping it would help me learn teamwork. So that’s what I did. Little did I know was how much the other girls were jealous of me. I was always picked first for the team. I was chosen first out of every other freestyle swimmer on our team for the Medley Relay.”

“I always was kind of a loner. I didn’t have many friends, so I was alone most of the time. After practice one day, I was getting dressed by myself again and I was getting ready to go home. That’s when I heard the three girls I was on the Medley Relay team with talking. I got closer out of curiosity and they were talking about me.” All of sudden I start to see tears fall down her face. I scoot closer to her and rub her back in assurance. She continues, “They were talking about how I was coach’s favorite. That I was only there to win medals; that they couldn’t understand why I was on the team with them. That I should just quit. My heart was just broken, I just wanted to be accepted by the team. So I just ran out of the gym and went to the park near my home. I decided there that I would act like it didn’t happen; that it didn’t bother me. I wanted to swim so I kept swimming.”

I could see in her eyes she was reliving every moment. This was her ghost; the thing that haunted her the most. Much like being afraid of the ocean was mine. And she was facing it head on. Not running away from it, not hiding it. I had so much respect for her. If she could tell me hers, I needed to tell her mine. I began to open my mouth but she continued.

“The three girls were looking for a way to get me kicked off the team and I knew it. One loss and that would be it for me. So I trained hard every day. But my times kept getting worse. I wasn’t sleeping, I wasn’t eating much; all I could think about was swimming and doing my best for the team. Then we had a regional tournament. I had won the freestyle race because I had let go and just swam. Didn’t think about the girls, the coach or what was going to happen to me. I just swam. I was free. And when the Medley Relay was about to start was when I started worrying again. I was so worried and consumed with my thoughts that I had forgotten to stretch.”

I gasped. Being a swimmer, I knew how detrimental that could be. A number of things could happen, none of them good. She nodded knowing my understanding after a while she continued on telling me her story. “We weren’t doing that well in the race and with me swimming freestyle they all depended on me. So when I dove in, I was trying to catch up so we would win. I was rushing to make up for lost time. I had made my turn and when I was half-way down the lane on my final lap when it happened. I felt an intense pain in my right leg and I felt something pop.” I just cringed at the thought. “I just curled up and started to sink. The pain felt unbearable. I couldn’t straighten out my leg, no matter how hard I tried. I got a hold of the pain and I eventually I finished the lap. When I finished the race, it took all my energy just to get out of the pool. When I looked up my team was furious. My coach was furious. We had lost. It was my first lost.” Her tears were freely flowing now. I opened my bag and pulled out some tissue for her. I’m really hoping that her fears weren’t realized but I had a really bad feeling.

“Thank you,” she sniffles. “You can probably have guessed what happened. My worst feelings were realized. They cut me from the team. But in that moment I wasn’t really upset, I was more relieved. All the stress was gone. What made it the worst was the one race my mom came to see was this one. She saw it all fall apart, and I wished she hadn’t. But I’m glad she was there after the fallout. I don’t know if I could have pulled it together afterwards.”

“After the award ceremony we went to the hospital and I found out that it wasn’t a pulled muscle. I had level 3 muscle tear in my right calf. To be honest, I knew in the back of my mind that it wasn’t a pulled muscle. It was so bad that I had to have surgery to fix the damage, and I couldn’t swim for 6-8 weeks. Luckily, through rehabilitation and training, I had a full recovery. Surprisingly, the part of not being able to swim had not bothered me that much. I had decided not to swim anymore. Even thinking of swimming in a pool brought anxiety to me. I just couldn’t swim anymore, it just brought bad memories to me just thinking about it.” She said as she was wiping her face.

My heart was breaking for her. Why did this have to happen to such a good person? This wasn’t fair. My problem seemed miniscule compared to hers. “We…” I start.

“And that wasn’t the worst of it,” she continues. There is more?? This has to be a joke. “I know what you’re thinking. There’s more? But how? I don’t know. I’ve often wondered that myself.” How did she know what I was thinking??

“After I went back to school, I was still on crutches. I decided to find my best friend to have lunch with her. I looked all over the school for her and I finally found her on the roof. She was eating and hanging out with the three girls that had gotten me off the swim team. What had happened while I was gone? There had to be and explanation so I asked her about it. She ignored me the whole time I tried to talk to her until she just finally couldn’t ignore it anymore. She said that she couldn’t be my friend anymore. That I didn’t have the reputation or status to continue our friendship. ‘If that’s what that was’”. She mimed air quotation marks. She then just dropped her head into hands and just sobbed. Her whole body shook with sobs. In that moment I didn’t care if was too soon, I just held her. Held her while she cried. “Why did everyone abandon me? Why wasn’t I good enough? Why?!?” We sat there for a while and she just cried while I rubbed her back.

“You are good enough [f/n]-chan. We’re here for you now. We won’t abandon you.” I assure her. I didn’t care how long I had to be there, I didn’t care how wet my shoulder got, I would be the support that she needed.

 After a while she calmed down a little she started to talk again. “You know, you’re the first person I’ve told the full story too. I haven’t even told my mom.” She confessed.

“And thank you for telling me. I feel honored that you would feel okay to tell me this.” She was still in my arms and I wish she could stay there forever. She was so warm and full of life even though so many bad things had happened to her. She was so strong; I wish I could be that strong.

“I still have a lot to tell Kou. I feel really bad about keeping from her. I just wasn’t ready to tell anyone just yet.” I could detect a hint of panic in her voice. She sounded so worried. 

I just squeezed her harder. “I wouldn’t worry about Kou. She really cares for you and I bet she will understand. I bet everyone will understand. You are our friend.” I tell her. And it’s the truth. We all see her as one of us now, as a true friend.

She just smiles. “Thank you so much. You don’t know what that means to me.”

“It’s no problem.” I smile at her. “So, you can still swim?” I asked her.

“Yeah I can, I am fully healed now. No permanent damage was done, luckily.” She assured me. “I actually swam a little for fun when we first moved her, in the ocean.” She smiled at me. “I felt like I was ready. I just don’t think I’m quite ready to swim competitively. I don’t know if I ever will.”

“I can understand that. Take baby steps. Everyone will understand if you’re not ready.” “If you don’t mind, I would like to go swimming with you sometime. If your swimming is anything like Haru’s, I bet it’s beautiful.” I plainly state. I really do want to see her swim because I bet it is beautiful. I can tell it’s something that she is passionate about and I want to see her happy swimming again.

She seems to blush, “I would like that.”

“Well we better head back, we don’t want to worry your mom too much.” I begrudgingly tell her.

“I guess you’re right.” She starts to get up. I help her and then grab my bag. _I guess I’ll have to tell her next time._

We continue walking to her house talking about random things on the way. About my brother and sister, how I got into swimming, how I met Haru, Nagisa, and Rin, and before I knew it we were in front of her house. I had finally gotten her to smile again and I hope I don’t have to see her sad ever again. It’s heartbreaking to see tears on her face; I want her to always be happy and smiling. She deserves it after all she’s been through.

We stand in front of her house neither of us wanting to part ways. “Um…would you mind if we exchanged numbers? I would like to see you again sometime outside of school.” I ask her. I really hope she doesn’t say no. I really feel like we’ve connected tonight. I felt like I got to see a side of her that no one else had seen and I felt a little prideful in that.

She nodded her head real fast and pulled out her phone. She unlocked her phone and we tapped our phones together. “Alright I got it. Thanks.”, and I put up my phone. She looked down and put her phone in her bag. She looked back up at me with a sparkle in her eye that nearly took my breath away. If I hadn’t known it, you would never have known she had been crying not 30 minutes earlier. She had the glow about her that just drew you in. She was like the sun. And in that moment I just had this overwhelming urge to kiss her and I knew if I didn’t do it now I wouldn’t have the courage to do so later.

She was zipping her and bag and started to look back up. She looked up at me and there was a strand of hair in front of her eyes. She was about to bring up her hand when I brushed the strand of hair and placed it behind her ear. I heard her intake a breath, and moved closer to her. “I haven’t had a chance to tell you yet but you look really beautiful tonight.” Her cheeks turned a cute pink and I think I heard her mutter ‘Thank You’. I really hope she accepted this but I just had to go for it. I would regret it later.

I looked deep into her eyes for permission and I believe she gave it to me. I cupped her face into my hands and she closed her eyes. I then bent down, closed my eyes, and pressed my lips to hers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> o(≧∇≦o)o(≧∇≦o)o(≧∇≦o)o(≧∇≦o)  
> I'm really excited where this story is headed but i'm experiencing some writer's block. (⌣_⌣”)  
> So try and bear with me.
> 
> I can't wait to post the next chapter. I don't if I should wait or just go ahead and post it now.
> 
> Check me out on [Tumblr](http://dianexchan.tumblr.com)


	12. First Kiss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I felt his hand cup my face and I sighed inwardly. Finally. I closed my eyes and tilted my head up towards him. And then finally I felt his warm lips against mine. It felt electric; like my lips were on fire. My heart felt like it was going to burst out of my chest. This felt perfect. And at some point, I don’t remember when, I was kissing him back. My hand was on his chest and I felt his heart was beating just as hard as mine. Did that mean he felt the same way about me? I really did hope so.

The minute he brushed back my hair from face my heart skipped a beat. Could he be thinking…? Then he told me I was beautiful I think. My mind was muddled with all these feelings. My stomach was churning with butterflies, my heart stammering so hard I felt like it was going to burst out of my chest. What was this feeling? Nervousness? I didn’t know but I liked it.

He then was looking me deep in my eyes and it felt like he was staring back into my soul. Those green eyes always made me feel comfortable. Like I could take on the world if I needed to. Then all of a sudden this feeling came over me. This confidence and an unshakable feeling; I needed him to kiss me. _Makoto. Kiss Me._ I was surprised at my confidence but that’s all I wanted. In that moment that is all I wanted. Selfish I know, but I felt like we were connected. That our souls were connected. It was super corny; I know but that knowledge just felt right to me. What do they call that? Soulmates? He saw me in my most vulnerable state and he supported me. He comforted me. He didn’t run away. He didn’t make fun of me. I just wanted and _needed_ to be closer to him. I wanted to be more than friends. If that’s what we were right now.

_Kiss Me. Please. Makoto please kiss me. Please. Kiss Me. Kiss Me. Kiss Me._

I felt his hand cup my face and I sighed inwardly. _Finally._ I closed my eyes and tilted my head up towards him. And then finally I felt his warm lips against mine. It felt electric; like my lips were on fire. My heart felt like it was going to burst out of my chest. This felt perfect. And at some point, I don’t remember when, I was kissing him back. My hand was on his chest and I felt his heart was beating just as hard as mine. Did that mean he felt the same way about me? I really did hope so.

Then I felt his arm around my lower back and he pulled me towards him. My breath caught in my throat. I pulled my arm out from his chest and wrapped my arms around his neck and brought him closer to me. He seemed to read my sign and leaned down closer to me. I just wanted more and more. I grabbed a handful of his olive brown hair and I heard him moan. It made my whole body shiver with pleasure.  

He parted his lips and his tongue traced mine. As if asking permission for entrance and I allowed him. I parted my lips and his tongue found his way to mine. Our tongues then swirled and tangled but it wasn’t a battle for dominance. It was like gentle waves like water. It reminded me of Makoto, the gentle giant. Everything he did, he did with the consideration of everyone else. Gentle and caring in everything he did. That was Tachibana Makoto. I unconsciously moaned against the kiss and he pulled me closer. I swear I felt him shiver as well.

My hands then just traveled down and I was holding his back. I tried not to but I couldn’t help but feel his muscles through his shirt. I wanted to trace them, to remember them but I didn’t dare to. What if he didn’t like it? What if he thought I was weird and pushed me away? So we just embraced as we kissed. We kissed like that for another minute but it felt like time wasn’t passing at all. It was just us in our own little world and I never wanted to leave.

He broke off the kiss after a few minutes so we could breathe. He just leaned and rested his forehead against my forehead. We just stood there trying to catch our breath. We still held each other close not daring to separate any further. How could he be this good of kisser? Yeah it was my first kiss so maybe I didn’t have anything to compare it to but that was amazing. First kisses usually aren’t supposed to leave you breathless right? They’re supposed to sloppy right? Why was this different? Maybe he has dated other girls? That would make sense right? He is really attractive, that would only make sense. Then all of a sudden I just heard him to start to chuckle. It sounded like music to my ears.

“What?” I whisper.

“You look cute when you’re thinking hard.” He laughs.

“HEY! I wasn’t thinking _that_ hard.” I pout.

“What were you thinking about?” he asks me.

I just blush and refuse to tell him. It’s too embarrassing.

“You’re not going to tell me? That’s not fair. Please?” he pleads giving me the biggest puppy dog eyes I’ve ever seen. And of course I have a weakness for it. Dang, how did he find that out?

Defeated, I just sigh. “Fine. Just don’t laugh.” I turn my head and look down.

I felt a finger under my chin. He turned my head so I could look at him. “I won’t laugh. I would never laugh at you.” He tells me with the upmost conviction.

I swallowed and looked down. I couldn’t look into his eyes any longer, I was afraid I would melt or kiss him again. Because truthfully that’s what I wanted to do. “Well, I was wondering how you could be such a good kisser. And I surmised that this probably wasn’t your first kiss like it was mine. You’ve probably…had girlfriends before. I didn’t even ask if you had one and I just kissed you.”

“hahaha” he starts to chuckle. I just look up to him in surprise.

“What?? You said you wouldn’t laugh at me!”

“I’m sorry,” he straightens up. “I’m just surprised how quickly you thought that. Listen to me, [f/n] I don’t have a girlfriend and I haven’t had a girlfriend before.” He tells me as he brushes another strand of hair out of my face. And then I hear him whisper, “And you were my first kiss too.”

 I can see him blushing. ‘Oh’ was all I could say.

_Really?_ I was kind of happy I was his first too. It made me giddy.

 I decided to change the subject. “You know, this might be a little too late, but I’ve liked you since we met on the first day of school. Luckily Ran and Ren ran into me or we probably wouldn’t have met.” I confess.

He chuckles, “I’ve liked you since then too. Who knew Ren and Ran would be that pivotal that day.”

I just looked up at him in shock, “You mean we’ve liked each other the same amount of time? I didn’t even know.”

“I guess so. I always wanted to talk to you again but I could never figure out a way to do it. I guess Gou-san knew that I liked you. Luckily she invited you to the tournament.” He confesses.

“You don’t even know the half of it.” I joke. “But I’m glad she invited me too. And you might want to thank Rin-chan too. I have a feeling he had something to do with it too.”

“Really? I wouldn’t have guessed that one. He’s a little dense sometimes so I didn’t know if he could tell. I know Haru could tell he just didn’t say anything.” “Well, I guess you better head home before your mom hates me.” He tells me as he caresses my arm.

I loved the way he felt. The way it felt when embraced me, the way it felt when he caressed my body. I didn’t want it end “I guess so. I really had a fun time with you and the rest of your friends too Tachibana-senpai.”

“I did too. But I really would like to spend some more time with you again. If that’s okay with you.” He tells me. “And you can call me Makoto.”

“Well I guess I’ll see you around school then…Makoto” It felt strangely good to say his first name. It felt really intimate. I really didn’t want him to leave and I don’t think he did either.

He just smiled when I said his name. “I guess I will. I’ll text you later. And maybe I can take you on a real date.” He squeezes my hands and kisses my forehead as if to say that this wasn’t a dream.

“I would like that.” I say as I turn and head to my house.

* * *

 

As I close the door behind me I just sank to the floor. I’m so glad my mom already went to bed. I just had my first kiss! With Tachibana Makoto no less! Breathe. I just pinch my arm and nope it wasn’t a dream.

Makoto actually likes me and I like him. I hope we actually get to become a couple because I don’t think that is what we are right now. I look up at the clock and its 10pm. Wow, we went for a walk for 3 hours. The best 3 hours of my life.

“Ahem…” I hear my mom clear her throat. Oh crap. “I hope you had a good time.” I see her turn the corner with a big smirk on her face. That smirk told it all. She had been watching the whole time. My eyes just widen at the realization and I bet my face is the darkest shade of red that I’ve had all night.

“Um..yeah I did.” I mutter out.

I cleared my throat, “Tadaima. I thought you went to bed so I didn’t want to disturb you.” I explained to her as I took my shoes off.

“Uh-hmm…” she just ponders. “Okaeri. I wanted to see you when you got home and ask you how it went but I when I saw you outside I decided it could wait.” She just smiles.

My head just dropped into my hands. So she did see. “How much did you see?” I say embarrassed.

“Oh, just enough. He seems really nice though.” She starts. “By the way, I thought you didn’t have any guys that you liked.” She just raises her eyebrows at me.

“Oh…well…I felt weird talking about it because it was just a crush. I didn’t think he would like me back. I knew nothing was going to come of it so I didn’t see the reason to talk about it. I also wanted to deal with it myself.” I explain to her. And it is sort of an excuse but also the truth.

“Okay…I get it.” “So are you two dating or what?” she just blatantly asks me. As she pours me some tea.

I drink some and almost choke on it. “What?!?”

“Are you two dating?” she just looks at me like I’m stupid as she hands me a towel.

“Thanks.” I say as I wipe my face. “And I don’t know. We didn’t really talk about that part. He did ask for my number. We really just now confessed to each other…after we umm…. kissed.” I blush furiously. It was still hard for me to believe that we had kissed. I still was convinced it was a dream but I knew in the back of my mind it wasn’t.

“HAHAHA! Oh to be young. Well, he seems really nice. I would like to meet him someday.” My mom says. “What’s his name?”

“Tachibana Makoto.” I reply.

“Tachibana Makoto. Hmm… That’s a nice name too. Well you better head to bed. And you better tell Kou-san you made it home. She’s probably wondering how everything went.” She chuckles.

“YOU KNEW! You knew the whole time!” I accuse her.

She just laughs, “Have a good night.” She waves in dismissal as she heads to her room.

Oh my god…was I the only one who didn’t know? I groan internally and head to the bathroom and take off my makeup. I just look at my reflection. A girl stares back at me with eyes that look wide and alive, with flushed cheeks and swollen lips. I touch my lips and remember why they were swollen. He actually kissed me. We kissed! If you would have told me that 6 months ago I would have told you were crazy. And he liked me back! I just didn’t know what was going to happen next and I was excited to see what was going to happen.

I finished getting ready for bed and got my phone out to put on the charger beside my bed. First I unlocked it to see if I had gotten any messages. 5 unread messages. _FIVE?!_

_MAKOTO-SENPAI:_

_Hey [f/n]-chan, I just got home. I just wanted to tell you I really had a great time with you tonight. I can’t wait to see you again. I hope to see you again at school Monday and I hope you sleep well. :D_

_Sweet Dreams,_

_Makoto_

I got a text from Makoto! I’m trying not to hyperventilate. _Calm._

_KOU:_

_I just got home and I’m anxious to hear what happened. You better not leave anything out! I knew you two just needed a little push. What am I saying? I don’t even know anything yet. Just text me when you get home!_

_-Kou_

_KOU:_

_I’m taking that everything is going well since you’re not home yet. I really think you two would go well together. Ah! I’m already thinking that you are dating! What am I saying?!? I can’t wait to hear from you._

_-Kou_

_KOU:_

_WOW. You still are home yet? Things must be going really well. ;)_

_-Kou_

_KOU:_

_Well you must be having a good time. I’m getting tired so I’m going to head to bed. You better tell me tomorrow how it went. I want all the juicy deets and you better not leave anything out!_

_I’ll talk to you tomorrow._

_-Kou_

I chuckled and hurried and texted the both back. First Kou:

_ME:_

_Hey Kou, I just got home. It’s like 10:30. Tonight…well I’ll tell you tomorrow. I bet you’ll want to hear it straight from me. How about we meet up tomorrow to get lunch or go to the park? I’m going to head to bed now too._

_Night,_

_-[f/n]_

I then started texting Makoto and then I didn’t know what to say. I just stared at the blank screen. _What do I say??_ I didn’t want to say anything stupid. I muster up my courage and started typing.

_ME:_

_~~Hey Tachibana-senpai~~_ No that was no good, he wanted me to call him by his first name.

_~~Makoto-senpai, I~~_ That was no good either, seemed to formal

_~~Mako-chan, I~~_ No that’s a little too personal. Is it a little too early to give nicknames?

_Makoto, I really had a great time with you too. I hope I get to see you again too. Thanks for listening to me tonight and being so supportive. I hope you sleep well. See you at school Monday._

_-[f/n]_

And I hit send and prayed that it was okay. I plugged in my phone and laid my head down. It took me awhile to come down from all of the excitement from the day but eventually it turned out I was very tired. Not too long after I passed out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has to be one of my favorite chapters. Sorry for all the mistakes. I don't have anyone to proofread except myself. 
> 
> Check out my [tumblr](dianexchan.tumblr.com)


	13. Happy Morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The next morning you have some quality time with your mom before your lunch with Kou. :)

I woke up to the sound of the birds right outside my window. I will never get used to how much nature is out here. It’s so beautiful and refreshing. We didn’t have this where I grew up and I kind of wish we did. I stretch all my muscles out and it feels so good. I roll over and unlock my phone. I have 2 new messages. One from Makoto and one from Kou. Every time I see the name of Makoto on my phone I get all giddy.

I opened the one from Kou first.

_KOU:_

_Good morning sleepyhead!_ She was always an early morning riser. Probably cause of Rin. _You HAVE to tell me what happened! Let’s meet up for lunch at the café near your house at around 11am. And also I snapped this picture last night and thought you might want it._

_-Kou_

Below the message was a 3 pictures. One of was of Makoto and some girl walking and talking. He, of course, looked amazing. Smiling and laughing. Eyes only for her. It made me a little jealous. She had [h/l][h/c] hair and was smiling brightly. Obviously very into him. She was wearing a green button up plaid shirt…wait a minute. I examined the picture closer. That was me?!?!? Wow. I couldn’t even recognize myself. I was just jealous of myself. How weird. Kou did a really good job. I’ll have to thank her later.

The second picture is of us at the restaurant. It looks like right after he called me by my first name for the first time. His and my cheeks were flushed and he looked embarrassed. But we looked like, like we could be a couple. If I could say that, and oh how much did I want that. These pictures just solidified what I had secretly wanted and now it looks attainable. And now, I can’t do nothing about it anymore. I need to be his, but I didn’t know how. I bit my lip and then looked down at the last picture.

It was all of us at the restaurant. I kind of remember this one. Kou had someone take a picture of all six of us. The picture almost made me cry. I took a deep breath. Makoto was standing next to me. Then it was Haru, Rin, Kou, and then Nagisa at the end. We looked like a group of friends hanging out after a tournament. And how I wanted so badly for them to be my friends. And I hoped they were.

I immediately saved all the pictures to my phone. I set the picture of the two us walking together as my background but left the lock screen the same. I didn’t want some passerby to think I was weirdo. I then texted Kou back.

_ME:_

_Hey! I’m awake. :P Yeah 11 sounds good. Gives me enough time to finish all my chores. And thank you so much for taking those pictures. You don’t know how much that means to me._

_Thanks,_

_[f/n]_

I then opened Makoto’s message.

_MAKOTO:_ (I had changed his name in my phone last night)

_I hope you slept well! ^_^ I had a hard time getting to sleep but it turned out I was pretty tired. I hope you have a good day today._

_-Makoto_

It was just a short message but I knew that he did it because he was thinking of me and it made me feel special. I quickly typed him a reply.

            _ME:_

_Ohayou! I slept pretty well and I had pretty much the same problem. Kou sent me some pictures from last night. Did she send you any? And I hope you have a good day._

_-[f/n]_

I then heard a ding from my phone. Makoto had already replied. I just smiled. I headed to the bathroom to start my day.

_MAKOTO:_

_No she didn’t send them to me. There’s more than just the group picture of us? When did she even take them lol._

_Oh and what are you doing today?_

_ME:_

_I’ll send them to you. She only sent me 3, I’ll see if she can send me some more._ _  
_

_And I’m going to do some stuff around the house and then I’m going to meet Kou for lunch._ _She’s still itching to know what happened. I don’t know how I’m going to handle her. :/ Lol._

_What are you going to do today?_

I then send him the three photos. And then I head downstairs to start breakfast.

_MAKOTO:_

_OMG. >. < When did she take these pictures?!?!? I look so weird in them. But I really like that she got some us together in them. _ _  
_

_Oh that reminds me I don’t have a picture of you for my contact information of you. Would you mind sending me one?_

I just blush. He wants a picture of me. I hate taking selfies. I’m never good at them. Maybe Kou took a picture of me on my phone. I scroll through my picture gallery and find one from when she was helping me get ready for the tournament. Before I could send it to him my phone dings again.

_MAKOTO:_

_Here’s one of me. :D_

Attached was a picture of him. Smiling his signature smile, eye crinkle and all. Damn, I’m weak for those eyes. I’m tempted to change my background picture again but decide against it. Kou would only make fun of me and we weren’t even dating yet. I would look like a stalker. I find the picture again and I send it to him.

_MAKOTO:_

_Thanks! Well I got to go. Me and Haru were going to go practice at the ITSC. I’ll text you later._

_By the way, I know I may be saying this too much but I don’t feel like I can say this enough. You looked really beautiful last night. I can’t really explain it enough in words. I’m glad Gou-san got some pictures of you last night because I want to remember it for as long as I’m able._

_-Makoto_

I nearly trip down the stairs as I reading the message. I really can’t handle him calling me beautiful like this all the time. As far as I know we aren’t even dating. How can he be so blunt about it? It’s really nice to hear but I’m not used to it. Boys have never paid attention to me at all, this experience is all so weird for me right now.

_ME:_

_Oh okay. I hope you two guys have fun. Say hi to Haru for me. And…..umm……thanks…._

_I guess I’ll talk to you later._

_-[f/n]_

I make it to the kitchen and start cooking the miso soup for our breakfast. I add the seasoning and the aroma starts filling the house. My mom should be up pretty soon. Every time I cook miso it wakes her up, I guess the aroma awakens her senses. I look up at the clock and its 8:30am; I still have plenty of time to do chores and still meet up with Kou.

I hear some rustling down the hall and finally hear my mom. “Ohayou…” she rubs her eyes. It’s kind of cute; she kind of looks like a little kid.

“Ohayou, how did you sleep?” I ask her.

“I slept pretty well. Better than I have in a while. I’ve been pulling some extra shifts so my sleeping pattern is a little off.”

I was concerned. Why was she taking extra shifts? “Kaa-san, why are you taking extra shifts?”

“Oh.” She realized she was talking to me. I guess I wasn’t supposed to know. “No reason, they just needed some help at the hospital and I had the time.”

I eyed her suspiciously but decided not to question it further. “Okay, well its almost ready.”

I could see her sigh. She really is bad at keeping secrets. I chuckle.

“Well I’ll set the table.” She gets up and gets the bowl’s and plates while I grill the mackerel. We sit down and give thanks for the food. “So what do you have planned for today?”

“After I clean up I was going to tidy up around here a little bit and then at 11 I’m meeting up with Kou. I still haven’t told her what happened and if I don’t tell her soon I’m afraid she’ll explode.” I tell her.

“Oh. Good luck with that.” She chuckles. “And you don’t have to worry about your chores today. I can handle the house. Have fun with Kou.”

“Are you sure?” I ask her. I would feel bad leaving this all to her.

“Yeah yeah…” she waves to me like it’s no big deal. “This house isn’t too big. And you’re at an exciting point right now. You should enjoy it.”

“Well thanks Kaa-san. I’ll at least clean my room and do my laundry.” I blush. “What do you have planned today?”

“You really don’t have to worry about it [f/n]-chan. And nothing really. After cleaning I may go to the coast and enjoy this nice weather. I’ve missed this.” She says nostalgically.

That’s right. I forgot she used to live in a town like this. I have to admit this atmosphere is nice. You can see the stars at night and the town actually sleeps at night. It’s nice knowing you can walk around at night without the worry of getting hurt or mugged. I was loving living here and could see myself living here for a while. I think we both were falling in love with Iwatobi.

We finished breakfast and we both worked together to clean up. We then go to sit in the living room and sip on some green tea. “So,” my mother starts, “About Tachibana-san.”

I tense up. I forgot she saw everything. “I want you to know. You need to take things slow. I’m not trying to tell you how to do things but I don’t want you to do something you’ll regret later. Hormones can sometimes get the better of you. You seem to really like him so I won’t get in the way. And also,” she looks at me with this stern, protective look in her eyes, “If he ever hurts you I will never forgive him. You’ve gone through so much already; you don’t need any more pain in your life. I know that you are young and you probably encounter it but I think you deserve a little bit of a break.” “Okay, that’s all I wanted to say.”

I swallow hard. I forgot how protective my mother could get and how you really didn’t want to make her angry. “Hai. Thanks Kaa-san. Thanks for the advice and I’m pretty happy right now. Nervous but happy.”

“That’s good. Now, I want to know how it was!” she exclaims.

I yelp. “What?!? How what was?!?!?” I blush furiously.

“You know, the kiss.” She winks at me.

My eyes widen, I blush and my face falls into my hands. Was it pick on [f/n] week?

“That good huh?” she laughs.

“KAA-SAN!...yes.” I muster out. “It was amazing. But it was my first kiss so I don’t have anything to base it off of.” I confess.

“Don’t underestimate a first kiss. You only get one, be happy yours was amazing.” She winks at me again.

“It’s really creepy when you wink like that.” I deadpan.

She just laughs.

“Umm..Kaa-san, there was something that I wanted to talk to you about. You know most of it but I wanted you to know the full truth about it.” I start off.

“What is it?” she starts to look confused.

“Well after telling Makoto about my past last night….” I start but my mom cuts me off.

“Wait. You told him? You were okay with that?” she asks confused.

“Well…he asked and strangely I felt comfortable around him. Comfortable enough to tell him the whole story.”

Her eyes just widen. She knew this was huge for me. I didn’t talk about it; I would just change the subject or flat out say that I didn’t want to talk about it. That I actually did was a big hurdle for me. “He must be really special then.”

I just nodded and continued, “Yeah he is. Maybe that is why I felt okay kissing him. I don’t know. But I realized I hadn’t told you everything. And now I feel like I’m ready to now.” I take a deep breath in. “After my injury and I went back to school I tried to talk to Maeda-san. When I got back I found her eating lunch with the three that were on the Relay. I tried asking her about it but she just ignored me. But I persisted, she was my friend. She finally snapped at me. She said that she couldn’t been seen around me anymore. That I didn’t have the status or reputation that she needed around her. That we weren’t even friends to begin with.” I just swallowed. I wasn’t going to cry. I cried enough last night.

My mom just gasped. I saw tears pricking at the edge of her eyes. “I’m so sorry [f/n]-chan.” She hugged me. And while she couldn’t see me I let one tear escape. I wiped my face before she could see.

“I’m so sorry that happened. I can’t believe I worked with her mother and tried to be her friend. Her mother was kind of the same way. Only got close to people that benefitted her. Luckily you found Kou-san and your other friends.” She smiles and then she looks up at the clock. “OH! [f/n]-chan it’s 10:30!”

“What!? Oh no, I didn’t even get to the laundry!” I exclaim.

“Like I said, Don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of it. Just go get ready. You don’t want to keep Kou waiting. I bet she’s just about to burst from anxiousness. With all her hard work she at least deserves to know.”

“Hai…I’m still surprised you knew.” I eye her.

“Hey, I didn’t tell her to do it. She did it on her own.” She puts her hands up in protest feigning innocence.

I roll my eyes. “Sure. Well thanks again Kaa-san.”

“Now go!” she basically pushes me to my room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find me on [tumblr](dianexchan.tumblr.com)


	14. Lunch with Kou

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “So, you promised details. And I need them. And they better be good, don’t leave anything out!” - Kou

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...I'm sorry this is taking so long to update! I was so busy at the holidays that I really didn't have much time at my computer. And then last night I found out my computer had a virus and all the writing I had was gone! T.T Luckily I had some backed up.
> 
> So here is the long awaited Chapter 14!

I make it to the café just in time. I rest my arms on my knees and breathe hard “Sorry I’m late.” I finally make out.

“It’s alright.” Kou assures me. “I wasn’t here long. Let’s just get a table. You have a lot to tell me.” I could see the excitement in her eyes. She has no idea. But I also needed to tell her the truth. I nodded to her.

We found a table and ordered our drinks. The waiter came by and we both ordered our food. We had decided to come to a Ramen restaurant. The waiter left and that was when she decided to attack.

“So, you promised details. And I need them. And they better be good, don’t leave anything out!”

I blush and clear my throat, “Okay, I’ll tell you. I’ll warn you it’s a long story.”

She nods her head rests her elbows on the table. She then rested her head in her hands. She’s ready for the long haul. So I tell her about everything that went on after she left. How her text had saved me and how he wanted to walk me home, how we talked about small stuff but I suggested taking the long way back home.

“You sly dog, you. Good job.” She praises me. I just blush.

“I just wanted to spend more time with him.”

“I know; you did a good job. Continue.” She waves on. Our food finally came and we began to dig in.

“How about we eat? This next part is kind of important and I don’t want you freaking out and choking.” I warn her.

“Oh really? Alright. Your stall tactics won’t work for long.” she points her chopsticks at me before breaking them apart.

I just roll my eyes and we both dig in. “Itadakimasu.”

* * *

 

We eat and then I suggest we go to the park and continue. We are then both walking. “Hey,” she starts, “Sorry about my brother last night. He’s not always the smartest. He really felt bad afterwards.”

“It’s alright. I kind of need to explain to everyone what happened anyways. If they view me as their friend. I would like to be their friend.” I say longingly as I stare out at the road in front of me.

“Are you kidding me?” she looks at me incredulously and she stops walking.

“What??” I look at her.

“We’re all your friend. You couldn’t tell that? The way Haru accepted you? The way Nagisa is already calling by your first name. And my brother already kind of viewed you as his second little sister. And we already know how Makoto-senpai feels.” She smirks.

“Oh.” I blush.

“Now you know. Let’s go sit over there on that bench.” She points under a tree.

“Okay.”

“Now continue your story.” She demands.

“Before I do, I need to apologize.” I confess. She looks at me in confusion but I continue. “I want to apologize about not telling you about my past. It wasn’t fair to you what happened last night. You’re my best friend, you should know.”

“It’s okay. I understand you had…” she starts.

“No.” I shake my head, “It’s not okay. I should show you more trust than that. You’ve been there for me and I should show you more respect than that. But I think I’m ready now.” She nods and I continue.

I proceed to tell her the whole story that I had told Makoto the night before except this time there was less tears. There were some but it seems to be easier to tell the more I talk about it. Maybe this is part of the healing process. “What your brother was talking about was that I was the number one freestyle swimmer at Iruka Academy. I had won a lot of medals for the school and they were grooming me to be an Olympic swimmer. I didn’t really care about that part; I just was happy to swim. I guess it was a big deal but I’m kind of surprised he knew about it.” I ended my story.

Kou was crying and she just hugged me. “I’m so sorry [f/n]-chan. That shouldn’t have happened to a nice girl like you. You deserve so much better.”

“Thank you Kou.” We both wipe our faces. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, I hope you can forgive me.” I was really nervous that she wasn’t going to. She was a dear friend to me that I deeply cared for.

“Of course I forgive you dummy! We’re best friends. I know you had your reasons and it probably took a lot for you to even tell anyone.” She assures me. I just smile brightly.

* * *

 

“Now, you need to tell me the rest of went on!” she proclaimed.

“Okay okay.” I soothed her. “Well we took the long way home which was walking by the coast.”

“Ooohh…how romantic.” She tilts her head and I just laugh.

“Yeah. And then he asked me the question I kind of knew he was wanting to know about.” “He asked me why I didn’t swim anymore and I decided I could tell him. He wasn’t forcing me to tell him. After he saw my reaction he didn’t really want me to but I did. So we sat down under a tree as I told him what I told you but I was so much more emotional. I was a crying mess. Tears everywhere. I must have looked like a mess. But he stayed there and comforted me. He held me when I cried and he assured me that I had friends now that wouldn’t abandon me. He held me until I calmed down. I didn’t want to leave.” I say reliving every moment.

“Oh my gosh…this went way better than I thought it would.” Kou says.

“There’s more.” I smirk.

“Oooohhh!!!!! Tell me tell me tell me!!!!!!” she’s basically bouncing in her seat.

“Okay…well he walked me the rest of the way home. And then we exchanged numbers.” I heard her gasp and I smiled. “Then he stepped closer to me…” I could hear her scooting forward in her seat.

“Yes??” she begged me to go on. I just smiled. This was kind of fun keeping her in suspense.

“And then I just said goodnight and went inside.” I lied.

“WHAT?!?!” she exclaimed. Her face was in total shock. Not the outcome she wanted.

“I’m kidding.” I was laughing, “You should have seen your face. HAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!”

“That’s not funny.” She pouted. “Now what happened next???”

I finally stopped laughing and caught my breath, “Fine.” “He stepped closer to me and he was right there when I looked up. Some of my hair was in my face and I was about to move it when he brushed the strand that was in front of my face and placed it behind my ear.” I heard her sigh in contentment.

“So romantic,” she sighed.

“Uh-hmm…” I cleared my throat. “And then he looked me deep into the eyes and then he cupped my face in his hands.” I sighed. Now I was reliving it. “I closed my eyes and next thing I knew I felt his lips on mine.” I touched my lips trying to remember the sensation. I heard her gasp.

“He then wrapped his arms around my lower back and pulled me closer. Before I knew it I was kissing him back. I gained a weird confidence and I grabbed his neck and brought him closer to me. I grabbed a fistful of his hair and brought him closer to me and deepened the kiss. I felt him shiver and We continued kissing like that for a few minutes and then the kiss deepened. He parted his lips and then our tongues intermingled. I felt him shiver and he pulled me closer. My arms travelled down and held his back. And man, his back, I just wanted to memorize all of his back. Every cut, every curve, all of it but I just embraced him. We kissed like that for a few more minutes until he broke off the kiss and we just stood there with our foreheads touching trying to catch our breath.” I finally came out of my reverie. I then realized how much I had said and I was suddenly so embarrassed. 

I looked over at Kou and she was fanning herself, “Man, [f/n]-chan that was hot.” Was all she could say.

“KOU! Please don’t tell anyone about this! I don’t want Makoto to know I told that part. I just kind of lost myself there. Please! Promise!” I begged her.

“Makoto?” she just asked smirking.

I blushed. “Oh yeah, we’re on first name basis now. He asked me to call him that after we kissed. But never mind that, PROMISE!” I just stared her until she finally gave in.

“I promise.” She mimed zipping her lips. “Fine. I won’t tell. But [f/n], that…that was something else.”

“You’re telling me. I still find it hard to believe it actually happened. That he actually likes me back.” I think aloud.

“Wait…did you two confess to each other?” she stares at me wide eyed.

“Yeah…after we kissed. Which seemed kind of backwards to me.” I confessed.

“Are you two dating now?” she just asks me. Why is everyone asking me that?

“I don’t know; he did say he wanted to take me out on a real date. But I didn’t really count that as a date.”

“You’re so dense [f/n]-chan! Of course that was a date! Maybe time will tell. Technically he still hasn’t asked you out yet.” I can tell she’s scheming something.

I narrow my eyes at her. “Don’t you dare do anything else.” I tell her. Her eyes widen. “You’ve done a lot and I thank you for that. You made realized that this was possible. But I want him to choose me. Maybe it’s a little selfish but I don’t want our whole maybe relationship to be planned out by a third party. I want him to choose me, to like me, and maybe one day…love me.”

“But…” she starts.

“Please?” I beg her.

“Okay.”

* * *

 

“I also have some news to tell you too.” She swallows.

I can see it’s serious. “You can tell me. I’m here to listen too.” I assure her. “That’s what friends are for.”

She takes a deep breath in. “You know about my father, right?”

“Yeah, how he wanted to be an Olympic swimmer but he ended up being a fisherman instead. And Rin feels really bad about that and is trying to finish that dream for him.” I assume.

“Yeah. Well he’s going to start on the path to finish my father’s dream. Rin is transferring to a swimming school in Australia. He’s moving at the end of the school year.” She finally finishes. She looks down and seems like she is about cry. I just hug her.

“That’s in two weeks!” she just nods. “Do the rest of the guys know? Nagisa-san, Haru-san, and Makoto?” I ask her.

“Yeah they know. They knew before the tournament. That was the last tournament they were going to be in together.” She told me.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I ask softly. I can’t really judge her though. I didn’t tell her about my swimming.

“Because I didn’t want you to worry about it while we were hanging out with the guys. It would have ruined the whole night. But I want to at least get together one last time before he leaves.” She tells me.

“We can totally do that. We should go to barbeque restaurant or something together. I’m not very good at this planning thing.” I chuckle.

She jumps up and hugs me, “Thank you so much [f/n]!” I just smile.

* * *

 

So we just walked along the beach and started planning Rin’s going away party.

“I think we should have the party at someone’s house. Where do you think we should have it?” she asks me.

“Hmm…somewhere he won’t expect. I can ask my mom if we can have it at my house or maybe Haru’s or Makoto’s?” I suggest.

“He would probably guess if it was Haru-senpai’s place. And Makoto-senpai’s house it would be hard to get his brother and sister out of the house. Do you think your mom would be okay with having it at your house?” she asks me.

“I don’t think she would mind. I can always ask. Especially since she wants to meet Makoto.” I just shake my head.

“Wait..why does she want to meet Makoto-senpai?” she asks me.

“Oh, I forgot about that. Umm… my mom was waiting up for me last night and she watched me and Makoto kissing the whole time. So she knows. No thanks to you.” I glared at her.

“What did I do?!?” Kou asks me.

“You told her about me and Makoto! She all but said it.” I say.

“Oh…yeah. Well the plan wouldn’t have gone off without her help. And she saw the whole thing?? I can’t believe that.” She says in disbelief.

“Yeah to the point where she said to ‘be careful’ and to ‘not let my hormones get the best of me’.” I tell her in mortification.

“Oh.My.God. I’m so sorry.” She apologizes for me.

“It’s okay. It’s in the past. Let me see if she’s home and we’ll go ask her. When did we want to do it?”

“Next Friday if possible,” she tells me. So I quickly text my mom to see if she’s home. She is and I tell her we’ll be there soon to ask her for a favor.

“She’s home. She was about to run some errands so we’ve got perfect timing.” I tell Kou.

“Alright, let’s go.” She confirms and we speed walk back to my house.

* * *

 

“Tadaima,” Kou and I say as we enter the house. We take off our shoes and walk into the house.

“Okaeri,” My mom greets us. “How are you Kou?”

“I’m pretty good. We have a favor to ask you.” She says to my mom.

“Alright, I’m listening. I’ll try to help you two out anyway I can.” She assures us.

“Okay,” I breathe out. “Kou did you want to tell her?”

“Sure.” She agrees and my mom looks at us suspiciously. Kou clears her throat. “My brother Rin is transferring schools. He’s going to a school in Australia next school year. He’s going to be moving at the end of this school year.” She explains to my mom.

“Oh,” is all my mom could say. And I feel her pain. What do you say to that? I was worried about Kou to be honest. Her brother was moving to a whole new country. Wasn’t she worried about him? Wasn’t she going to be lonely?

“Yeah, it’s going to be tough but I got my mom and Rin is following his dream and trying to make our dad proud”, she smiles. “I was wanting to throw him a surprise going away party and was wondering if we could have it here. Would that be okay?”

My mom clears her throat. “Well…” my mom starts off. We were starting to worry. Where would we have the party if we couldn’t have it at my place? “I’m kidding. Of course you girls can have the party here. When are you wanting to have it?” my mom jokes.

We sigh in relief. “Next Friday if possible. We want it to be a surprise party.” I tell my mom.

“Hmm….”, my mom thinks, “It’s a little bit of short notice but I think we can make that work. Who will all be coming?”

“Rin, of course, Haru-senpai, Nagisa-kun, Tachibana-senpai, and Sousuke-kun.” Kou tells my mom.

“Sousuke?” I wonder.

“Yeah, he’s Rin’s best friend. We weren’t there in time at the tournament but he swam the butterfly.” She informs me.

“Oh, of course he should be there.” I reply.

“Tachibana Makoto?” my mom asks. I immediately blushed knowing what my mom is thinking. After what happened last night I can only imagine where her mind has gone.

“Mom, nothing is going to happen. It’s just a get together with friends because we’re going to miss Rin. I’ve already talked to Kou about this and she agrees with me.” I tell my mom and Kou just nods her head in agreement.

“Alright,” my mom concedes. “I’m just going to have to set some rules. NO Alcohol okay?? Got it? I’m going to trust you two.”, my mom demands. We just nod our heads in agreement. We then go about planning the surprise party with my mom.

* * *

 

“So, at 6pm right?” my mom confirms.

“Yeah, I think that would be a good time. We’ll have food and drinks and we’ll have watermelon afterwards.” Kou concludes.

“Alright, Kou did you want to stay for dinner?” my mom asks her.

“Sure, just let me tell my mom and brother.” She says as she pulls out her phone. “Alright, they know we should be good to go.”

“[f/n]-chan, Kou you two can go ahead and head upstairs. I’ll cook dinner tonight.” My mom offers.

“Are you sure Kaa-san? I don’t mind cooking.” I offer to her.

“Yeah I’m sure. You two go ahead and have girl talk. I know you two have much more to talk about.” She shoos us up to my room and we run to my room and I close my door.

“That was weird. You usually cook and she never offers like that.” Kou says.

“I think she’s dating someone.” I blurt out.

“What?!?” Kou almost yelps.

“Shh!!!! She’ll be able to hear you. Yeah I think she is. She always comes home exhausted, she has me leave the house on the weekend for at least a couple hours, and she’s been pretty secretive lately. She’s also had a slight pep in her step. It’s just been the two of us for a while now so, I can notice the difference in her mood.” I inform her.

“Wow.” She breathes out.

“I think she was headed to a date when we came back home and now she’s calling him to apologize.” I predict.

“Do you think she’ll tell you?” she asks me.

“Only if she thinks it’ll be a thing she sees that will last.”, I explain to her.

“Wow. What do you think about her dating?” She asks me and she plops onto my bed.

I sit at my desk, “Honestly, I just want her to be happy. It’s just been the two of us for so long, I think she needs this. I don’t know if I ever told you about my father.” She just shakes her head no. “Well they were high school sweethearts. My mom really thought they were going to get married. They went to college where my mom started medical school. He was an artist, but they seemed happy. That was until she got pregnant with me. She told him and he just couldn’t handle it and left. He doesn’t even know I was born; he just cut off all contact.” I continue, “So, now I can take care of myself. I don’t want to be the reason for a failed relationship for her anymore. I want her to find someone to make her happy if that is what she wants.”

She just sits in silence, “[f/n], you are not the reason for your parent’s breakup. He chose to do that on his own.” She assures me.

“She’s right,” I hear my mom behind me.

I yelp. “When did you get there?!?!?”

“I was outside the door and didn’t want to disturb you two.” “Anyways, how long have you known about your father?” she asks me.

“Umm…I’ve known since I was about 5. When I went to grandma’s that summer, I asked her about if I had a dad and she told me about him. Don’t be mad at her, she just told me what I asked after I begged her to tell me.” I plead with her.

“I’m not mad. I knew you would ask sooner or later. I was wondering why you hadn’t. You used to ask about him all the time and then all of a sudden you stopped. I just want you to know, you are not the reason me and your father aren’t together. We had our own problems. You are a blessing in my life and always will be.” She softly tells me as she hugs me.

* * *

 

“Well dinner is ready,” she continues and smiles at the both of us.

We follow my mother downstairs and sit down for dinner. “This looks delicious!” Kou exclaims.

“Yeah Kaa-san, this looks amazing. Thank you.” I thank her. We all thank for our food and dig in. We then start to talking about the party. All the things that we needed and how long it would be.

“Have you told the other guys about the party yet?” I ask Kou.

“No, I haven’t. I was going to after dinner but I don’t think I have Tachibana’s number.” She replies.

“Umm…” I blush. “I can text him if you want me to.”

“Oh yeah,” Kou smiles “You do have his number.” She winks at me. “Sure you can if you want to.”

“Wait.” My mom interjects. “You have his number. So that’s why it took you so long to get downstairs this morning! I was wondering why you were just starting breakfast when I got up this morning.” My mom starts laughing and I just blush.

“Oohh… You didn’t tell me this part [f/n]-chan. I’m hurt” Kou fakes anguish. I just roll my eyes at her.

“It’s not that big of a deal.” I wave at her dismissively. “We were just texting each other this morning.”

“It is a big deal. That’s the next step and you didn’t even tell me you were progressing this fast.” She confides in me.

“I’ll tell you later. Did you want to stay the night? We can plan more in detail.” I then remember I didn’t even ask my mom yet. I look to her for permission.

“Of course it’s fine. Not like we had any plans. Kou is always welcome.” My mom smiles at us.

“Sure!” Kou agrees, “Can I use your phone to call my mom? My phone is in your room.”

“Yeah,” I say like I always do. I wasn’t thinking that I had changed things on my phone. I dig my phone out of my back pocket and hand it to her. As I hand it over I see a green flashing light; I had a text message. I would check it later.

“Thanks,” she then unlocks my phone and her eyes went wide. I was wondering why when I remembered what my background photo was. I immediately blushed but I didn’t say anything so I wouldn’t alarm my mom. Now she knows how deep I am in with my infatuation with him. This isn’t good. Luckily, Kou doesn’t say anything. “She says it’s fine.”

“That’s awesome. Do you girls want to watch a movie or something?”, my mom asks us. Kou just looks at me wanting me to say no. But I know my mom won’t let us off the hook that easily. We have to socialize a little bit. And if we stay downstairs I can prolong her questions ‘til later.

“How about that new drama that’s starting tonight? It looked pretty good.” I suggest. Yeah, maybe it’s only 45 minutes but I’m trying to stall right now. Kou just squints her eyes at me knowing my intent. Her eyes seem to say ‘You can’t escape me forever.’

We watch the drama and it’s not too bad. It was your typical cliché romance drama but it had its good points, I may continue watching it. Now we had to go up to my room and I was going to have to face the wrath of Kou. “Well Kaa-san, we’re going to head up to my room. Good night.”

“Hmm??” my mom seems to wake up, “Oh yeah, Good night Kou and [f/n]. Don’t stay up too late.” She then gets up and heads to her room for the night. Kou then smiles devilishly at me and follows me up to my room. The whole way I’m trying to prepare myself for Kou’s inquisition. Why did I let her see my phone?? I guess better now than later.

We finally get up to my room and I sit down on my bed. I bounce a little before the bed settles and then I feel Kou sit at the end of the bed. “So…” I say to fill the silence.

“So.” Kou starts, “You’ve fallen that hard huh?” she just plainly states. I just blush and put my head into my hands.

“This is so weird. This is the first guy I have really liked. I went to an all-girls school before this. I don’t know what I’m feeling. My heart beats faster when I’m around him, my stomach swirls, and I’m suddenly so aware of how I look.” I confess. “But when we kissed, it’s like all those feelings melted and I felt whole. I felt so comfortable around him but I don’t know what’s going to happen next. And I’m kind of scare to find out. I don’t want to mess anything up. One of his friends is moving away and my best friend’s brother is moving away. I just think it’s a weird time for me to be pursuing anything with him.”

Kou bites her lip. “I know but you don’t want a chance to slip by; you might regret it. And this feeling you are feeling is he is your crush and you’re falling in love with him.”

“I know….Wait. Love??” I look down.

“Yes dummy!” she lightly pushes my arm. “So, you’re texting Tachibana? What’s going on? And you got a text message. You might want to look at it.” She nods her head to me.

I pick my phone up from my nightstand and unlock my phone. I have a feeling I know who it’s from. Kou is right here and I doubt my mom is texting me.

* * *

 

_MAKOTO:_

_Hey [f/n]-chan, I just got back from practice. I’m exhausted! Just trying to get Haru out of the water is a chore in itself. v.v_

_I was wondering if you wanted to hang out again next week sometime. I really had fun with you last time._

I just swallowed and tried to get my face to cool down. I quickly type out a reply so Kou and I could still talk.

_ME:_

_I’m still hanging out with Kou. I hope you get some rest!_

_Me and Kou are planning a surprise going away party for Rin next week. Did you want to come? And could you spread the word to Haru and Nagisa?_

_MAKOTO:_

_Yeah, so I’m guessing she told you. Yeah I’ll come, where and when is it going to be?_

_ME:_

_Yeah she did. I’m sorry your friend is moving away._   _The party is going to be at my house at 6pm._

_MAKOTO:_

_Alright, I’ll be there and it’s alright. I’ll let the other guys know. I’ll let you talk with Kou, text you later._

_-Makoto_

I just smiled as I read his message.

_ME:_

_I’ll text you later. See you at school tomorrow._

_-[f/n]_

“So??” Kou starts.

“I told Makoto about the party and he said he’s going to spread the word to the other guys.” I informed her.

“Wait. Let me read the message. I swear there is more that you’re not telling me.” She grabs my phone out of my hand.

“Hey!!!!” I exclaim.

She unlocks my phone and scrolls up and starts reading. First she’s really smiling and then her face starts getting serious. “[f/n]-chan! What the heck did you do?!!?!?!?!?!”

“What??” I’m really confused, what did I do?

“He totally asked you out and you invited him to the party?? It totally looks like you blew him off!” she chastises me.

“What? No way. I was just inviting him to the party like we discussed earlier.” I deadpan.

She sighs exasperatedly. “Uhhhh!!! What am I going to do with you?? He wanted to go out with you ALONE!!!! Text him now and ask him out NOW!” she throws my phone at me.

“WHAT? Me ask him?? You can’t be serious! And do you really think right now is the best time??” I ask trying to get out of it.

“If you really want to be with him you will do this. You can’t let him slip away [f/n].”

I was trying not to have a panic attack. “Fine. I guess you’re right. It is my bad.”

I open my phone and go to Makoto’s and my conversation. I start tapping away.

* * *

 

_ME:_

_Hey, I hope I’m not waking you up. I was um… I was wondering if…umm... If you wanted to..wanted to hang out sometime during the week before the party. Um….if so just let me know. If not, it’s no big deal._

_I hope you get some rest._

_-[f/n]_

My finger was hovering over the send button and I just couldn’t press it. My hand was shaking. What was I so nervous for. Rejection that’s what it was. He could say no and that scared me. All of a sudden I see a hand and Kou pressed the send button.

“KOU!!” I exclaim.

“You wouldn’t have done it. I’m just giving you a little push that you need.” Kou explains.

I just cover my face to hide my blush. I put my phone back on my nightstand. “So we should probably…” All of a sudden I hear a ding and I look at my phone and I see a green flashing light. A text notification.

I hear Kou chuckle, “Well, go ahead and read it. We don’t have all night.”

My hands are shaking so bad; I try to will them to stop but they won’t. I grab my phone and there is a message from Makoto.

_MAKOTO:_

_You didn’t wake me up. Don’t worry._

_I would love to hang out. Would Tuesday 6:30pm be okay?_

I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. Was this for real??

_ME:_

_That sounds like a good time to me. What did you want to do?_

I was breathing fast and hard. The edge of a panic attack if I wasn’t careful. I usually didn’t step out of my comfort zone like this so I was freaking out.

I felt someone’s hand on my arm and I looked up and Kou just smiled at me. Basically telling me that it was going to be alright. I heard another ding and looked down at my phone again.

_MAKOTO:_

_Don’t worry about it. I’ll plan it out, just be ready at 6:30._   _I’ll come pick you up around then._

_Well I’m going to head to bed for real this time. Lol. Good night [f/n]-chan. Sweet dreams._

_-Makoto_

* * *

 

I let out a breath, “I have a date on Tuesday.” I smile meekly at Kou.

“EEEEE!!!” Kou squeals.

“Shhhh!!! You’ll wake up my mom!” I chastise her.

“Sorry. But I’m so excited!” She practically is jumping in her seat. “Did you want me to come over and help you get ready? We have to go shopping for a new outfit!”

She starts to ramble. I put my hands on her shoulders. “Calm. Yes, I would like your help but I don’t think I need a new outfit. I have plenty clothes.” I chuckle. She really likes playing matchmaker.

“Okay…I’m just so happy for you! Where are you two going?” I just laugh.

“Okay, Okay. Thanks Kou-san. He didn’t tell me. He told me not to worry about it, just to be ready by 6:30. I’m kind of nervous, but we should probably head to bed.”

“Hai, Hai Kaa-san.” She chuckles as I pout at her.

We both laugh “Well I’ll help you out any way that I can. Goodnight [f/n]-san.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's Chapter 14! Let me know what you think in the comments and maybe things you would like to see. :D
> 
> As always you can find me on [tumblr](http://dianexchan.tumblr.com/)


	15. Our First Real Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tuesday came faster than I thought. Somehow Kou had convinced my mom and we had gotten me a new outfit even though I really didn’t need one. But I had to say the outfit was really cute. I was really excited but I was also very nervous. This was my first date and I was kind of freaking out. Not to mention Kou was supposed to help me get ready and she was now 15 minutes late.

Tuesday came faster than I thought. Somehow Kou had convinced my mom and we had gotten me a new outfit even though I really didn’t need one. But I had to say the outfit was really cute. I was really excited but I was also very nervous. This was my first date and I was kind of freaking out. Not to mention Kou was supposed to help me get ready and she was now 15 minutes late.

Finally, I heard a knock at my door and I rushed to the door. “Finally! I was about to start getting ready myself!” I chastise her.

“I’m so sorry!” She was panting for breath while she was resting her hands on her knees. She obviously ran all the way here. “My brother was wondering where I was going so late. He didn’t buy our story; I wish I could have just told him.”

“I’m sorry, I just want it to be between me and Makoto. But really thanks so much for helping me out.”

She waves at me in dismissal. “Don’t worry about it. We got to get you looking smoking hot for Mr. Tachibana. So go!!!” She pushes me to my room.

* * *

 

I just blushed the entire way. She didn’t have to put it that way! I got to my room and I plugged in my phone and put on some Oldcodex. They were my new favorite band; I just loved the way the lead singer, Tatsuhisa Suzuki, sounded. His voice just calmed me and that is desperately what I needed right now. I put on the outfit that we had chosen at the store a couple of days ago. We had gotten some black skinny jeans and then we had also found a beautiful teal tank with white lace embellishments along to the top edge. We had also found a black cover-up that draped down below my hips just in case I got a little cold. Kou had tried to get me to buy some heels but I refused. I was already a klutz to begin with and me in heels was not a good idea. So, we decided to find some cute flats with black glitter all over them and bow on the top. They were cute but I really would have been more comfortable in my black converse. Oh well, the things we do for love.

After I had gotten the outfit on she did my makeup. It was almost the same as before but she added some white shimmer eyeshadow and just a hint of black eyeliner. I looked in the mirror and was amazed.

“You really outdid yourself this time.” I said as I admired her work.

She just waved at me in dismissal. “You just better have a good time. After all this work I’ve put in, I need to know the details tomorrow. Promise.” She just looked and pointed at me with the hairbrush in the mirror.

I just rolled my eyes at her, “I promise.”

“All right, now to your hair.” She started brushing my hair and then weaving her hands through it. She took my [h/c] strands and started braiding them. The way it felt when she was doing my hair made me feel so relaxed. It had been awhile since someone had done my hair. The last time was probably my mom when I real little; she stopped doing my hair when I was about 7. Kou brought the two braids she had just made around the crown of my head and back around to the back. She clipped them into place and left my fringe hanging. She then took some hairspray and sprayed my hair into place. She handed me some perfume, “Here put this on. It smells amazing.” She then beamed at me.

I sprayed it in the air and smelled the perfume. It had a sweet floral scent that I loved. I really have never liked the fruity perfumes so this was perfect. “Thanks for everything Kou-san.” I smiled at her. I sprayed it once on my wrist and rubbed both of my wrists together and then I sprayed it once on top of my hair. I didn’t want too much and overwhelm him.

“It’s no problem [f/n]-san. And that’s perfect. Now you get to look at the finished product. He’s going to love it, I promise.” She turned me around to look in the full length mirror my mom had bought me when she found out about Makoto.

When I finally looked at myself I just gasped. Was that really me? I touched my cheek just to be sure. Yeah that was me; wide eyed with cheeks tinged pink from blush. My hands then traveled down and touched the outfit that we had chosen. The shirt really fit me well and the shoes really accented the whole outfit perfectly. I had never worn my hair like this and it actually looked pretty good. I usually had some of my hair covering my neck so I felt a little exposed. I took a deep shaky breath.

“Well? What do you think?” she finally asked me.

“I..uh…ummm...” I started. What do I say? I look better than I ever thought I would. But was I allowed to say that. “I…uh…” I scratched my face, “I love it. Thanks so much Kou-san. This is so much more than I thought.”

“I’m glad you like it and it’s no problem.” She smiled at me. All of a sudden we heard a knock on the door and we both yelped in surprise.

“Who is it?” I squeaked out.

 “Who do you think it is?” Kou just looks at me incredulously.

“It’s me.” My mom just answered, “Can I come in?”

“Yes.” I reply.

She opens the door slowly and walks in. “Oh….” She just breathes in. “[f/n] you look absolutely beautiful.”

I just look down, “Thanks Kaa-san.”

“Hey,” she pushes my chin up, “Don’t look down. You’ve got a cute boy to impress. Always look up and show that beautiful face of yours.”

I just nod. “Let me get a picture.” She motions me to get up and show off. Both her and Kou take my picture before she says, “Oh, by the way. There’s a boy waiting for you downstairs.”

“WHAT?!?!?!?”

* * *

 

**Makoto**

I took a deep breath and then knocked on this door that I had only seen once before. I could hear footsteps approach and I nervously straightened out my shirt. I then heard the door open and I could see a woman that looked a lot like [f/n]-chan. I nervously rubbed the back of my neck, “Good evening, I’m Tachibana Makoto. Is [l/n][f/n] home?”

I just stood there and waited all of a sudden her expression changed and she just smiled at me. “Yes, she is. So you’re the Tachibana Makoto I’ve heard so much about. I’m [l/n] Hinata. Come in and take a seat, she’s just finishing up getting ready.”

“Pardon the intrusion,” I say as I slip off my shoes at the doorway and head to their living area.

“You’re not intruding. Would you like something to drink? Water or maybe tea perhaps?” She seemed really nice.

“Tea sounds really nice.” I reply and sit down. I look around the room and there is a television in the center of the room. I then look around and look at the pictures on the wall. There’s a lot of [f/n]-chan and her mother. I don’t see a father figure anywhere and then my eyes settle on picture of a young [f/n]. It looks like a picture of a swim meet. I get up to get a closer look and yes it is her. I can tell by her beautiful [e/c] eyes. She’s standing on the champion’s podium on the highest pedestal wearing a gold medal. Her smile in the picture was just breathtaking. I just wanted to touch the picture just so I could be closer. I started to raise my hand.

“She won the gold for the 100m freestyle that time.”

“Ah! Gomen.” I say startled.

“It’s okay. I’m sorry I startled you.” She apologized.

“No I’m sorry for being so nosy. So she did compete in swimming?” I asked her.

“Yes she did. Every time she would swim it was just amazing to watch. Breathtaking.” She handed me my tea as we sat down.

“She kind of told me about it. I really wish I could have seen her swim.” I smile at her.

She smiled at me. A really warm smile, it kind of helped me relax. “So what do you do outside of school Tachibana-san?”

“Oh, I’m in the swim club. I swim the backstroke. We also won the 400m medley relay a couple days ago.” I explain to her.

“Congratulations!” and then all of a sudden her demeanor changed. “Listen, I’m not going to beat around the bush any longer. I hear that you like my daughter.”

I just nod.

“That is really great but I want you to know she is my only daughter and you better treat her right. You already know that she has been through a lot. I don’t want her to go through any more pain.” She just bores her eyes into mine and I can tell that she is doing this not to scare me but because she really cares for her daughter. “Well now that is out of the way,” she looks up at the clock, “Wow, its already 6:15. Let me go see if our girl is ready.” She started heading up some stairs. “And don’t worry, everything is going to be fine.”

After she’s out of site I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. Man, her mother could be frightening when she wanted to be. I made a note not to get on her bad side. And then I heard two sets of footsteps. First her mother came down the stairs and headed into the kitchen and then I saw her.

She was absolutely breathtakingly beautiful. Her hair was braided up around her head and you could see a few strands that fell delicately around her neck. I don’t know why but being able to see her neck was strangely sexy to me. She looked amazing in black and the teal really made her skin look stunning. The way her pants hugged her curves made me just want to bring her closer to me. My mouth just naturally fell open and I swear I could see Gou at the top of the stairs smirking. I closed my mouth and swallowed and nodded to Gou in appreciation. I know I probably wasn’t supposed to know about her but she needed thanks for this. Also out of the corner of my eye I could see her mother smirking too.

“Hi.”

“Hey Makoto. You ready?” I just nod to her. “Hey Kaa-san we’re heading out. I’ll be back around 10pm”

She then comes out from the kitchen, “No big deal sweetheart. Just let me know when you’re on your way home.”

She nods and then heads for the door. I open the door for her as we put on our shoes. I take one more look back and nod to the both of them in thanks. I really can’t believe that this is happening. I’m actually going on a date with her. I had always thought about it but I never thought it would actually happen. 

* * *

* * *

 

“So, what did you have planned?” she looks up at me and half-smiled.

“Oh, um…” she brought me out of my daydreams, “I was thinking we could go to dinner and then maybe go see a movie. And then after that I was thinking we could take a walk by the ocean again.” I looked down at her and smiled.

“That sounds great.” And we started heading to a little café I found. It was a little hole in the wall that not many people came to. There was this weird tension in the air. Should I just grab her hand or just ask her? I really wanted to hold her hand. I didn’t want her to freak out.

“Hey [f/n], would you mind if I held your hand?” I asked her. I could see her blush; it was so cute.

“Sure.” She nodded to me.

* * *

 

The way his warm hand felt in mine felt amazing. Like it was meant to be there. I couldn’t help but steal glances at him as we walked down the street. The way his cream colored polo hugged his torso. The way his jeans hung just right at his hips. Mmm…I was really weak to that. And then way his eyes were turned downward and crinkled when he smiled. I could look at him all day and not get tired of it.

We finally got to the restaurant and got seated and had to release our hands. It kind of saddened me but we started talking about random stuff as we got our food. School, his swim meets, how I was liking it here and before I knew it the movie had already started.

“I’m so sorry [f/n]-chan! Time just got away from me. Did you still want to go see a different movie?” he apologized.

“Don’t worry about it. I don’t mind. I really just like talking with you.” I assured him. “How about we just go for that walk?”

He just smiled the biggest smile. “Of course.”

After we paid for our meal we left hand in hand again and started heading towards the beach. I decided to be on the side closest to the beach. I don’t know why but I just felt like he didn’t like being close to the ocean.

“[f/n]-chan, why do you walk close to the ocean when we are walking?” he asked me.

“Hmm?? Oh that, I just had a feeling you didn’t like walking by the ocean. I don’t really mind it so I just walked on this side.” I just stated matter-of-factly. He just smiled. But it wasn’t a happy smile. It was the kind of smile that I saw him put on for other people so people didn’t worry about him. I just touched his arm, “Are you okay Mako-chan?”

“Oh, me? I’m just fine.” There was that smile again.

“You don’t have to fake it for me. You know that right? I can listen if you need me to.” I assure him.

His eyes just widen slightly. “You’re right. I don’t know how you figured out so much about me. It’s like you can see right through me.” He smiles at me. I can see something there and I kind of want to know what it is. “My house is right over there,” he pointed in a direction to the north, “Would you mind if I picked something up before we head to the beach?”

I shook my head no, “No, I don’t mind.” We started walking to his house and I waited outside while he entered his house. I could hear two sets of footsteps that sounded like a stampede. “Nii-san!!!” I knew those two. Ren and Ran. They then looked around him and finally saw me. “[f/n]-chan! What are you doing here?”

I kneeled down to their level, “Nii-san forgot something and we’re here to pick it up.” I explain and wink to them.

“Nii-san can she stay?? Please???? We want to play!!” They beg Makoto. They were seriously being adorable.

“Shouldn’t you two be in bed?” he chastised them.

“Pretty please!!! We haven’t seen her in a long time!”

I hear him sigh. The sound of defeat. I’m not surprised; saying no to those faces would even be hard for me. I just smile as he looks at me. “Is that okay?

“Yeah, I would love to stay.” I answer him. I really did want to stay but I was also nervous. I had never been to guy’s house before. I didn’t count Rin because Kou was always there with me. I’m guessing he could sense my uneasiness because all of a sudden I could feel him squeeze my hand. I looked up at him and he smiled down at me and instantly calmed me down.

“YAY!!!!” the twins exclaimed in joy. All of a sudden I felt them both pull on my hands and drag me inside his house. I barely had time to take my shoes off at the door. They were both jumping at my feet; not being able to contain their excitement.

All of a sudden I hear a female voice, “Welcome home Makoto, who is this?” I turn around and see her coming out of the kitchen wiping her hands on a towel. She is kind looking woman with green eyes just like Makoto. She has long olive brown hair and a kind smile. I can’t help but feel comfortable around her just like Makoto. It must be where he gets it from.

“This is [l/n][f/n]. She’s one of my classmates from school.” Makoto introduces me.

I bow, “It’s nice to meet you Mrs. Tachibana. Sorry for the intrusion.”

She waves at me in dismissal, “Don’t worry about it. It’s nice to meet you and you can go ahead and call me Shurui. Mrs. Tachibana just sounds too formal. Well, it seems Ren and Ran have taken a liking to you.”

The two just nod fervently. “We haven’t seen Onee-san [f/n] in a long time! Since school started. Can she stay and play?? Please???”

I just chuckle and I can hear his mom chuckling too. “Only if it’s okay with her. But you two need to go to bed pretty soon.”

“YAY!!!!” The two just start jumping in circles. Then it hits me, they called me ‘Onee-san’. I just start blushing wildly. They start pulling me up their stairs. “We got to show you our rooms and all our toys!” I look back at Makoto acting like I hope he’ll save me but he just chuckles.

“Go ahead, I’ll meet you up there in a few.” He smiles at me and I smile back.

* * *

 

**Makoto**

“So Mako, she seems nice.” My mom tells me as I turn around. “Come, sit and have some tea with me.”

I nod to her and sit at the dining room table with my mom. “She is, sorry to intrude. We were going to just pick up a blanket but I guess Ren and Ran had other plans.” I chuckle.

“This is the first girl you’ve brought Makoto. She really is beautiful. So how do you feel about her?” She asks me. I just blush. I take a sip of my tea before I continue.

“You’ve never really talked girls with me before Kaa-san.” I reply.

“I know. You never really showed interest.” She tells me bluntly.

“Yeah,” I rub the back of my neck, “but she just seems different. I just feel drawn to her. This is actually our first date and of course it didn’t go as planned. We went to a restaurant and just talked. We lost track of time and were late to our movie. So we were on our way to walk along the beach. She just wanted to talk and I feel like I could never grow tired of hearing her talk. I really do like her a lot.”

 She just smiles warmly, “You seem to care for her a lot. Well, I just want you to know that I support any decision that may you have. You have your father and my approval.”

I just blush and look to the side, “Well thanks Kaa-san. I’m going to go ahead and head up there before the twins completely scare her away.” I chuckle. She laughs with me as she cleans up the cups.

 

I head up the stairs and what I see has to be the cutest thing I’ve seen in a long time. They have put one of Ran’s toy tiara’s on [f/n]-chan’s head and they are playing tea party with her.

“Here you go [f/n]-chan.” Ran says as she play pours her some tea. “So are you and Nii-san boyfriend and girlfriend now?”

I can hear [f/n]-chan coughing, “What??”

Ren repeats what his sister says, “Well are you?”

“Umm…” she scratches her cheek, “I don’t think so. Not yet anyways.”

Both of their mouths drop, “Why not?!? You like him and I know Nii-san likes you”

Her face is almost as red as an apple. She opens her mouth but I guess she can’t come up with a good response. I decide to save her from their torment.

“Okay you two. I think it’s time for bed.”

“Aww…” they pout in unison. “We wanna play some more.”

“You don’t want to be too tired for school tomorrow. Come on, I’ll tuck you in.” she convinces them.

We start to get them ready for bed. We get them in their pajamas and their teeth brushed. While we do that it keeps running through my mind what Ran and Ren said earlier. Why hadn’t I made her my girlfriend? We both knew we liked each other, what was the hold up? Maybe I thought I had plenty of time to do that. But what if someone else catches her eye?

She tucks them in and we wish them a good night. “Good night,” I pat both of their heads.

“Sweet dreams,” she pats their sheets free of wrinkles. We both leave the room and turn off the light as we leave. I close the door softly behind her.

“Do you want to go to my room and talk some more?” I ask her.

“Umm…” I see her face turn red and then I see concern in her eyes. It all of sudden hits me what it sounded like.

“Oh! No! We don’t have to do anything like that! I wasn’t even thinking that way! I was just thinking we could talk some more. That’s all. We don’t have to do anything you don’t want. I was just thinking we could talk here, it’s a little late to go out to the beach now.” I try to convince her.

“Umm…” She starts still clearly embarrassed. “Okay, I’d like to talk to you some more. Lead the way.”

I sigh out of relief and start heading towards my room. I’m wondering what she’s thinking as we’re walking this way. What my little brother said to her keeps playing back in my head. ‘Why not?’ Well why wasn’t she my girlfriend yet? I really, really liked her. Why was I so hesitant? Why was asking her so hard?

Before I knew it we were at the doorway to my room. I clear my throat, “Uh-hmm, so this is my room.” As I look at her I see her eyes light up, “Is that a PS4??”

She starts to walk over to my entertainment center. “You know video games?!?” I ask bewildered.

“Yeah, I used to have a PS4 and had to get rid of it before we moved.” She picked up one of my games, “This one was on my list of the next ones I wanted to play. I had played the first one and couldn’t wait for this one. Is it any good?” The game she had in her hands was Last Sunrise 2. It was a zombie survival game with a pretty decent storyline. It was an over the shoulder shooter; which was a refreshing change from the first person shooters that were so prevalent on the market right now. The fact that she knew about it kind of impressed me. I didn’t see her as the video game type.

“Yeah, it’s really good. Better than the first one. Maybe you could come over again sometime and we could play it.” I smile at her.

Her face just lights up. It’s a beautiful sight. I just want to kiss her in that moment but I refrain. “I would like that.”

“Would you like to play another game that I have that is for two players? Like Mario Kart? I have it on the Wii U. I have it so I can play games with Ren and Ran.” I ask her.

“Sure! Just be prepared, I play a pretty mean race in Mario Kart.” She tries egg me on.

“You’re on.” I accept her challenge.

I set up the game and she goes to sit on my bed with the grey blanket and my favorite green pillow. I start up the Wii U and I grab 2 of my controllers. I head over to the bed and hand her a controller.

“Best two out of three?” I propose.

“What do I win?” she smirks.

“If I win, hmm…. If I win you have to give me a kiss.”, I see her blush profusely. “And if you win, hmm…I guess I’ll tell one of my few secrets.”

She looks like she’s pondering about it. “Hmm…” she sticks out her hand and we shake on it. “Deal.”

This may actually turn out well. I can tell her my secret phobia and it won’t seem out of place. We start the game and she picks Princess Peach on a motorcycle. I choose my go to, Shy Guy and little yellow car. We choose the Mushroom Cup. I start off strong and win the first race but in the end she wins with me closing in at 2nd place. I did kind of let her win but I can tell she’s a strong opponent.

“Ha!” she sets down her controller in front of her. “I win!” “Now it’s time to tell the juicy story.”

“Okay, okay,” I appease her. “A promise is a promise.” And I begin to tell her the story of my childhood. How when I was a kid a fisherman down by the port had died and how he had been my friend. And how the awful disaster that was his death caused my intense phobia of the ocean. “It’s like it scares me because I don’t know what’s beneath the surface. With pools I can see the bottom and there’s nothing under there but the ocean…the ocean seems bottomless.”

“Makoto,” she soothes me, “I’m sorry. I can understand your fear though. The fear of the unknown, I sometimes fear it too.” “I didn’t expect you to tell me this big of a secret though. I was expecting something small like you drool in your sleep or something.”

I chuckle, “I thought about something small like that but, ever since you told me about your past and how you faced it… I don’t know... I felt like I needed to tell you. Like you would understand a little bit.” I just rub my neck a little.

Her eyes soften a little, “So I take it you haven’t told a lot of people then?”

I just shake my head no.

She smiles softly. It’s beautiful. In fact, all her smiles are beautiful and I’m so happy that I get to see them. “Well thank you for telling me. I feel really honored that you would tell me.”

All of a sudden I feel two arms around me. Is she…is she hugging me?? I’m just speechless. I didn’t expect this from her. After I reel from the experience I just hug her back. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve hugged people before but this…this was different. I could feel her heartbeat beating a little fast. The rise and fall of her chest. I could also feel every curve of her torso against mine. The curve of her hips, the curve of her spine and the curve of her breasts against my chest. She finally let go and leaned back. “Sorry if that was a little sudden I just felt like I had to hug you. That you needed a hug.”

I couldn’t hold back any longer. I grabbed her cheeks and kissed her. Ever since that night of our first kiss, I tried to relive the moment in my mind but it just wasn’t the same. I couldn’t recreate her scent. A scent that I really couldn’t explain. I couldn’t recreate her warmth. I could hear her breath get shorter and more frequent and then I felt her kiss me back. As our mouths moved against one another I opened my mouth to catch my breath. Her arms made her way around to my back and I felt her caressing my back. Oh man did that feel good. I could feel her fingers on all of my back muscles like she was tracing each one. Trying to memorize all the lines. I shivered with pleasure and traced her bottom lip with my tongue. I slipped my tongue in her mouth and they swirled like the waves of the ocean. I sucked on her tongue and I could hear her moan. What was this girl going to do to me? I was a mess. All of a sudden she nipped at my bottom lip and I couldn’t help it and just pushed her down onto my bed. She was laying there, on her back, on my bed looking up at me. She looked beautiful, with her hair fanned out like a mermaid on the ocean floor. I had dreamed about this many times but I didn’t think it would be happening right now. I caressed her cheek with my thumb, “You’re so beautiful [f/n]. Sometimes I think you too beautiful for any man to handle, let alone someone like me.”

She just turned her head away in embarrassment. “Thank you.” She says meekly.

“I think you like it when I tell you you’re beautiful.” I say as I nuzzle her neck. I start kissing down her neck and on her collar bone.

She starts to breathe frantically, “Maybe….may…be a little…bitt… ahhh…”

“Mmhmm….I thought so.” I smirked up at her. I then nipped at her neck.

“Aah!!” I moaned softly. I guess she didn’t want to wake up my parents or my siblings. “Ma… Maa… Makoto.”

“Hmm??” I whisper in her ear. I then start sucking and nipping on her earlobe. And then I start caressing her torso. So beautiful.

“Don’t you think we’re…we’re…going…a little…fast?” she finally gets out.

“Hmm??” I sit up. If she didn’t want this, I wasn’t going to force her.

She gulps hard. “It’s just I really do like you. I don’t want this to be some fling. We’re not even dating and we’re making out like this. And this could easily turn into something else. I just can’t go on like this not knowing.” She finally gets out and turns her face to the side. I can see the panic on her face. Her face could plainly say ‘What if tells me to go away? What if he only likes me for my body?’ I put my finger under her cheek and turn her to look at me.

“[f/n], look at me. I can understand where you’re coming from. I just really like you and I think you’re really beautiful. Exquisite even. I just felt like I had to kiss you. And you’re right, it’s not fair to you to keep you on the edge like this. The edge of friendship and girlfriend.” She takes a deep breath and so do I, “[f/n], I really like you a lot. I think you are amazing, smart, passionate, focused and beautiful. Will you be my girlfriend?”

Her eyes just light up and she embraces me again. “Yes, yes of course I will.” I can see tears in the corner of her eyes. All of a sudden she kisses me. I can feel her smiling against my lips and I kiss her back.

“Thank you,” I whisper. “Do you just want to cuddle here?”

“That would be nice.” I roll over and lay on the other side of her. She rolls over to face me and lays her head in the crook of my shoulder. “This is nice.”

She looks really comfortable and we just talk for a while. Not about anything really important but it was just nice to hear her voice. All of a sudden I look down and she has fallen asleep. I look down at my watch and its 10:45pm. I slip out from under her and find her phone. I open it and her background is a picture of me and her. I smile. I then go through her contacts and find her mom. I dial the number and wait for her to pick up.

_“[f/n]-chan?? Where are you??”_

“Mrs. [l/n], this is Tachibana Makoto.”

_“Makoto? Is everything alright. Is my daughter okay?”_

I can hear the panic in her voice. “Don’t worry everything is okay. It’s just, she has fallen asleep and I don’t really want to wake her up to walk her home. Would you mind if she slept here? Don’t worry she’ll sleep alone in my room and I’ll sleep in the living room.”

I feel like I can her thinking in the silence over the phone. “Tachibana, just this once. As long as you aren’t in the same room with her that’s okay. Please take care of her.”

“Thank you [l/n]-san. She’ll be safe I promise.” I assured her.

“Thank you Makoto-san. Good night.”

“Good night.” And then I hung up. I looked over at [f/n]. She looked so peaceful sleeping like that I wished that I could join her but a promise was a promise. I get her a blanket and put it over her. I plug her phone in my charger. I kiss her on her forehead and grab myself a pillow and I start to head to the living room. As I’m turning out the light I stop dead in my tracks.

“Don’t go.” I hear her whisper.

She must be dreaming. I go ahead and shut out the light. All of a sudden I hear her whimper. “Please Makoto, don’t go. Please stay.”

She sounds so lost. I can almost hear her crying and I really had a hard time. Do I comfort her or do as her mother said? I really want to be with her a long time and I don’t want to mess up my relationship with her mother. But at what cost?

“Please Mako, stay with me.” She’s crying in her sleep. At the sound of my nickname that she apparently has for me I couldn’t take it any longer. Fuck it. I climb into bed and hold her tight.

“Don’t worry [f/n]-chan, I’m right here.” I can physically feel her calm down. Her body relaxes and she starts to lightly snore. “I’m right here.” Should I say it? Maybe it’s safe to say while she is asleep. I whisper into her ear, “I love you, [f/n].”

“I love you too, Makoto.” I hear her make out in a sleepy daze. My heart nearly skips a beat. This must be her unconscious. I just can’t help the smile that forms on my face. My heart is nearly jumping out of my chest for happiness. I settle my head down and hug her close and drift off to sleep.


	16. Bewildered

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You wake up at Makoto's remembering the night before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I want to thank everyone that has been reading this fic. It really touches my heart to see how many kudos and bookmarks that I have. Thanks guys and sorry the recent chapters have been so long. It's so hard for me to find a stopping point.

I don’t know why this was happening. I thought we were happy. I thought this is what we wanted but here he was walking away from me, taking my heart with him.

“Don’t go.” I finally make out. Desperation was so apparent in my voice and I hated it. He just looked back at me with pain in his eyes.

“I have to [f/n]. I tried but I just don’t think it’s going to work out for us.” My heart was breaking with every word he was telling me.

I was crying by now. “Please Mako, stay with me. Tell me what I need to do to make you stay.” But all I could see was his retreating silhouette. Why was this happening??

All of sudden I could feel some time had passed. I was a mess, so depressed all the time. I was barely making it through the day. All of a sudden I got a text from Makoto one day and he wanted to talk. I had mulled over it and decided, against Kou’s judgement, to meet up with him. We decided to meet up at the local park.

I was waiting at the park and I finally saw him. I could feel this pain in my heart and I knew no matter how much I deluded myself, I was not over him. He walked up to me and was rubbing the back of his neck. His little nervous tick that he had; maybe he was as nervous as I was.

“Hey.” He greeted me.

“Hi.”

“I hope you weren’t waiting long.” What did he call me here for?

“No, I just got here.”

“Oh, good. Do you want to go sit down over there?” he pointed to a park bench under a sakura tree. I just nodded to him and we headed over there. There was this awkward tension between us. It was so thick it felt like you cut it with a knife. We finally sat down.

“So, um…” I start fidgeting with my shirt. I was a nervous wreck. I hadn’t been this close to him in a long time. I felt myself in a cold sweat.

“[f/n],” I tried not to gasp out loud. I hadn’t heard him say my name in so long and I didn’t realize how much I missed it. No one said it like he did. I then heard him sigh, “I called you because I needed to talk to you.”

I just looked up at him. I couldn’t tell what was going on in those green eyes of his. It almost looked like he was in pain, but why? Why? He had left me, that was for the best for him right? That’s what made him happy right? I would gladly sacrifice my happiness for his, because I love him. There I said it, I love him.

“I need to apologize,” he continues.

Don’t cry. Don’t cry. Don’t cry.

“The way I left wasn’t fair to you and I’ve done a lot of thinking. You deserve to know what happened.”

“It’s okay…”

“No! [f/n], it’s not. What I did to you isn’t right. I hope you will forgive me someday. After Rin left Haru went into this deep depression and I knew I needed to be there from him. He even quit swimming. But I didn’t know how to juggle my friendship with Haru and my romantic relationship with you at the same time. So I decided to choose one. And I chose Haru. He needed me. But after what happened Haru asked me about you and why you weren’t around anymore. I had to tell him about my decision and he really wasn’t happy with me about it. He lectured me about what I had done and I had to come to realize maybe I had made the wrong decision. So I’m sorry [f/n].”

I was hyperventilating at this point. He chose Haru over me? What did this mean. “Makoto, I don’t know what to say. What does…”

“I know this doesn’t make much sense to you. I just was hoping that maybe you would forgive me someday. I didn’t mean to hurt you.” I could hear the emotion in his voice.

I grab his hand and he looks up. “It’s okay Makoto. I forgive you.” I try to smile so he doesn’t worry about me.

“I wish I could make you smile like the way you used to.”

I blush and look away.

I feel his finger under my chin, “Come on, you can look at me.”

I push his hand away and I can see the hurt in his eyes. “Just because you apologized doesn’t mean you can treat me like you used to.”

I can see him swallow hard.

“You always had a problem telling me what you felt. You know that I’m not that intuitive. You have to tell me what you’re feeling and thinking or else I won’t know.”

“You’re right. Honestly, I miss you [f/n]. I’ve missed you so much.” I can see his eyes watering. I’ve actually never seen him cry.

“I’ve missed you too.” I can feel tears fall down my face. Apparently I couldn’t hold up the façade any longer. I just started sobbing. “I’ve missed you so much Mako. It hurts when you’re gone.”

I can feel his arms around me as he hugged me. “I know [f/n], I know. I feel the same way.” He then takes his thumb and wipes away my tears. “Don’t worry [f/n]-chan I’m right here.”

“But how do I know you just won’t leave again?”

I can see all these emotions flit across his eyes. Those beautiful green eyes that I fell in love with. “I’ll prove it to you. Prove that I deserve to be by your side. So what do you say? How about we start over?”

My mind was telling me to let him prove himself but my heart just wanted to accept him back with open arms. I just nodded my head. “Let’s take it slow.”

He just nods his head and grabs my head. “I love you, [f/n].”

My eyes widen and I just gasp, “I love you too, Makoto.”

* * *

 

And then nothing. I didn’t remember anything after that. I slowly start to wake up and the first thing I smell is Makoto. I open my eyes and I for a minute wonder where I am. I’m under a grey blanket and I look over and see a guy’s school uniform. I roll over and I see a guy walk into the room. And the sight that I see is enough to give any girl a heart attack. Apparently this guy had just gotten out of the shower and was just wearing a towel around his torso and was drying his hair. I felt like Kou staring at his muscled abs and arms.

I immediately look down. “I’m so sorry!” I’m shielding my eyes trying not to peek no matter how much I want to.

“No! I’m sorry. Just let me grab my uniform really quick.” I can feel the bed move next to me. A half-naked Makoto is right beside me. This is almost too much for my heart to handle.

“Mmm.hmm..” I just nod my head. It’s getting harder and harder to concentrate.

“If you want to meet me in the living room when you get ready we can have breakfast.”

“Okay.” Before he leaves I take one last peek at him and he actually has his back turned this time and I get to see his muscles in all their glory. He leaves and closes the door behind him and I just fall back onto the bed. I sigh heavily. “Oh man, well that’s one way to wake up in the morning.”

So apparently that was all a dream. I’m guessing I fell asleep but why didn’t he just take me home? I guess I’ll get answers in a few minutes.

I grab my bag and I find my phone on his nightstand. It has a full charge and it says it is apparently 6:15 in the morning. I decide to find a bathroom. I need to at least see if I look decent.

I find one and the mirror is still a little bit fogged up. I’m guessing from Makoto’s shower. I tried as hard as I could not to think about Makoto naked in the shower. I cleaned off the mirror and looked at myself. At least I didn’t look horrible. My hair surprisingly stayed in place all night but it kind of hurts from sleeping on it. I unclip the braids and let them fall naturally at the sides of my head. I undo one braid and start unweaving Kou’s work. As my hair comes undone I can feel my roots relax, it feels amazing. “Ahh…” I start bunching up my hair to massage my scalp. As my hair falls down I see that the braids have formed soft curls that are framing my face and I have to say I kind of like it. I’ve never really curled my hair before but it doesn’t look too bad. My hair doesn’t even really need to be brushed. I’m afraid if I do these curls will disappear. I look at my face and my makeup looks, well it actually looks like I cried. Did I cry in my sleep? I really hope not; I hope I didn’t worry Makoto. Speaking of which did I actually spend the night at a guy’s house?? I probably should let my mom know but I want to spend some more time with Makoto. I’ll tell her after breakfast.

“Ohayou” Makoto greets me and as I look up I see a blinding smile.

“Ohayou,” I reply and look and see the twins and his parents at their table. His mother is setting places with breakfast.

“Ohayou [f/n] nii-chan!” I hear the twins greet me unison.

“Ohayou Ren and Ran. How did you two sleep?”

“Really good. No nightmares! Are you gonna come back and play with us?”

“I sure hope so.” I chuckle.

“It seems Ren and Ran have really taken to you.” I hear a voice I don’t recognize. It’s a man with dark olive brown hair and brown eyes. He must be Makoto’s father.

“Yeah it seems like it.” I smile at him. I bow my head to him. “I’m [l/n] [f/n]. I go to school with Makoto.”

His eyes widen on the name basis we were at. “She’s my girlfriend.” I all of a sudden hear Makoto blurt out.

Now it was my turn for my eyes to widen and I blush wildly. “Is that so,” I hear his father murmur.

“YAY!!!” the twins are basically jumping up and down in their seat. Apparently they approve and I can see his mother smiling. So him asking me to be his girlfriend last night wasn’t a dream. Wow. I’m dating Tachibana Makoto. I’m. Dating. Makoto. Kou is going to flip.

His father introduces himself, “I’m Tachibana Fujio, Makoto’s father.”

“Well, let’s eat.” His mom proposes and I gladly accept. I sit down and we all bow our heads. “Itadakimasu.”

The miso soup was delicious. Spiced perfectly and the fish that we were having with it was not too overwhelming for a morning meal. “This is delicious.”

“Yes Kaa-san it is delicious.”

I can see a slight blush on her face. “Thank you.” I can see Mr. Tachibana looking at her fondly. You can tell he loves her very much; I hope I can find that kind of love one day. Maybe that man will be Makoto.

I smile and keep eating my breakfast. After we get done I help Mrs. Tachibana with the dishes in the kitchen while Makoto helps the twins get ready for school.

“So, you care for our Makoto a lot huh?” I hear her say while we’re washing the dishes.

“Yes, I really do.” I confess.

“Does he know the intensity of your feelings?”

I just shake my head no, “No, I don’t think so. I don’t want to scare him. And truthfully I really don’t know what I’m feeling. This is the first guy I’ve ever had feelings for.”

She just smiles, “Well, it will come when you’re both ready. Well just know that you have both me and Fujio’s support.”

“Thank you. And also thank you for your hospitality.”

“No problem. Thanks for making our Makoto happy.”

I just smile and we finish the dishes and I help her put them away. After we were done I go to find Makoto. As I’m leaving the room I hear his parents talking.

* * *

 

“So Fujio, what do you think?”

“Of [f/n]-san? I think she’s a sweet girl. I don’t see any problems.”

“Me too. I think she’ll be good for Makoto. Hopefully he can juggle her and Haru at the same time. But I think if he really wants this he can make it work. I really could see her becoming a Tachibana.”

I decided to walk and find Makoto. I was smiling but apparently my fears that were in my nightmare are a possibility. I just shake my head, “It was just a dream. I don’t need to worry about it.” As I walk past Makoto’s room I see him and the twins ready for school.

* * *

 

“I was thinking we should head out early so we could drop by your house so you could change.”

“Yeah that sounds good. I better call my mom to let her know what’s going on.”

“Don’t worry about it. I called her last night and let her know that you were staying. You fell asleep and I just didn’t want to wake you up. She approved of it and knows you’re on going to be on your way.”

My eyes just widen. “How did you call my mom?”

I can see his nervous tick again. “I, um, actually used your phone last night.”

Oh no. That means he saw my phone background. “Oh.” I’m really trying to hide my mortification but it’s not working.

“Um, I thought it was cute.”

My head shot up, “Well..” I just blush and fidget with my shirt.

I feel him grab my hand, “Well we better head out. Come on Ran and Ren.” He leads us to the front door. I don’t think I will ever get used to his boldness sometimes.

“We’re going to head out.” I hear him call out to his parents.

“Oh, have a good day!”, Mrs. Tachibana comes over and kisses the twins on the foreheads. “Be good kids at school today and learn something new.” She smiles that Tachibana smile. I’m so glad Makoto inherited that.

At that we head out the door heading towards the school. All of a sudden we start heading up some stairs. I just look up at Makoto in confusion.

“I thought the school was this way.” I pointed in the opposite direction.

“Oh, I always pick up Haru on the way to school. He’d never get to school on time if I didn’t. He’d just stay in the tub all morning.”

I just cock my head to the side, “He can’t take a bath that long. It’d get too cold.”

“You’ll see when we go to see him.” And he’s knocking on this door to this medium sized house on the top of a hill.

* * *

 

“It’s open,” I hear a muffled Haru.

“Oh good, he’s out of the bath.” I hear Makoto whisper.

We walk in and there is Haru but he’s in just a swimsuit and an apron grilling something. Smells like fish.

“Haru!” Haru just looks up. “Why are you cooking we have to get to school!”

“Because I haven’t had breakfast yet.” Haru deadpans. I chuckle a little bit and I can hear Makoto sigh and look back at me as to say ‘you’re not helping.’

“Well, come on. We don’t want to be late for school.” He just walks past Makoto and he looks just defeated. “[f/n]-chan could you wait in the living room and look after Ren and Ran? I need to talk to Haru.”

“That’s fine,” and I usher them into the living room.

* * *

 

**Makoto**

“So why is [f/n]-san here?” Haru didn’t mean to sound rude it was just the way he is. He was just wondering what was going on.

“Oh well you probably know by now but I like [f/n]-chan.” He just nods so I continue. “Well after that time we went to that restaurant with everyone I walked her home and she opened up to me a lot. And we kissed.” I heard Haru intake a breath. “It turns out she liked me as much as I like her.”

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“I’m sorry, I just didn’t know how to bring it up.” I apologized.

“I could have helped. At least listened when you needed me to.”

“Gomen.”

“It’s alright. Now that doesn’t answer my original question.”

“Umm…Last night we had our first date. We really had a great time. We went to dinner and she came to my house afterwards.” I just hear Haru’s silence so I continue. “I asked her to be my girlfriend and she said yes.”

I can barely see an emotion flit across Haru’s face. Is it hurt? Heartbreak? He just turns away. “Congratulations.”

“Um…Haru. Are you okay?” I go to touch his arm.

“I’m fine.” He turns away from me.

“No you’re not. Tell me.”

“I’m just worried is all.” Ah…I think I get it now. How could I have not seen? Does Haru have feelings for me?

“I’m sorry Haru.” He turns back to me and his face tells it all.

“It’s not what you’re thinking. I’m not that way.” I just tilt my head at him. “I truly am worried but I’m happy for you. I just don’t want our friendship to change.”

“Well thank you Haru.” He just nods, “Well the reason she is really here is she actually stayed the night last night and we need to go get her a change of clothes.”

Haru almost drops his food. “She what?!?”

“Ah, Haru!” I help him with his plate.

He clears his throat as we sit down. “Explain.”

“Ah well, she came over and we played video games and talked for a while. She eventually drifted off to sleep and I didn’t have the heart to wake her up so she slept the night at my house.” I could see Haru eyeing me with skepticism, “We didn’t do anything promise!”

He just nods and eyes me while he is eating. “So I think I got everything.” “You need me to take Ran and Ren to school while you take [f/n]-san?”

I just nod. “Thank you so much Haru!”

* * *

 

**Haru**

So Makoto loves [f/n]-san. I’m not that surprised. I actually lied to Makoto when he deduced that I have feelings for him. I actually do. I’ve been in love with him for a while now but I didn’t want to risk our friendship with my feelings. So, I kept quiet and hoped one day he would realize these feelings I’ve kept hidden. But I guess I read my best friend wrong.

Don’t get me wrong, I am happy for Makoto but I’m slightly jealous of [f/n]-san. I’m not going to lie and say that it doesn’t hurt. How did she capture his heart? What did I do wrong that I didn’t capture him for myself?

But I was going to be that best friend that Makoto needed. I was going to support him no matter how much it hurt because I love him. And if I can be close to him by being his best friend that was what I was going to do. So I was going to help him in his relationship with [f/n]-san and take Ran and Ren to school.

* * *

 

All of a sudden I see Haru and Makoto walk in and they’re both ready to go to school. Something is different about Haru. The look in his eyes is more somber. Haru just looks away from my gaze. Makoto leans down and talks to the twins. “Ran, Ren Haru is going to take you to school this morning.”

“Aww…” I hear them cry in unison.

“Don’t worry, I’ll see you after school.” He beams at them.

“Will we see [f/n]-chan again?”

I kneel down to their level. “Of course you will.”

“Yay! Come on Haru Nii-san! We’ll be late!” They grab his hand and lead him out the door. We wave goodbye to Haru and the twins.

“Why are they heading to school ahead of us?” I ask him.

“To give you time to get ready for school. I don’t think they would give you that time you needed.” He smiled at me.

“Thank you.”

“No problem. Should we head to your house?” I just nod and he takes my hand. I just look up and smile at him.

“So last night wasn’t a dream? I’m actually your girlfriend?” I ask in confirmation. I still didn’t truly believe it.

He looks down at me and pushes some of my hair out of my face. “Yes that wasn’t a dream. You said yes.” I feel his hand rest on my neck. It looks like he’s leaning down to kiss me. All of sudden he just shakes his head. “We can’t get distracted. We’ll be late for school. Sometimes you’re just so irresistible [f/n].” His voice just got a little husky and I shivered a little bit. He reluctantly tore his eyes away from mine and we started walking to my house.

“Did you sleep alright?” he asked concerned.

“Yeah, it was alright. My neck was a little stiff from sleeping with my hair up.”

“I’m sorry about that. I didn’t want to wake you up. You sure you slept okay?” he was pressing the issue. Did something happen?

I decided to tell him the truth, “Well I did have a nightmare last night but it wasn’t that bad. For some reason in the middle of it I got really calm.”

He just nods. “Well I’m glad that it wasn’t that bad. Um, I just wanted to tell you that you looked amazing last night. That color looked really good on you. I hope we can hang out again soon. I really had a nice time.”

“Thanks…” I scratch my cheek. “I um, had an amazing time with you too. I would like that.” When I looked up we were at the front door of my house. “Oh, we’re here.” I grab my keys and start to unlock the door. Before I could finish opening the door my mom bolted out and I felt her arms around me.

“Mom,” I whisper, “I’m fine.”

“I was so worried about you!”

“I. Can’t. Breathe.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” She patted me down making sure I was okay.

“I said I’m fine. Don’t worry so much.”

She looked over at Makoto. “Tachibana, thanks for keeping her safe.” He just nodded to her. And then I saw it. That look in my mom’s eyes. She had finally accepted him and I was so happy. I just couldn’t keep from smiling.

“Thanks so much Kaa-san!!” I jumped up to hug her.

She blushed and fixed her hair, “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she winked at me.

“It’s still kind of creepy when you do that.” She play pushed me.

“Shut up. Well you better head upstairs and get ready. You don’t want to be late for school. Go!” she pushed me inside.

“Tachibana, would you like to come inside?” he just nodded.

“Thank you Mrs. [l/n].”

My mom takes a sip of her coffee. “Now be nice to my boyfriend.” I warn her and then run upstairs.

“WHAT?!?” she coughs.

I can hear Makoto chuckle and as I got behind my bedroom door I couldn’t contain my laughter.

* * *

 

I hurriedly found my school uniform and I notice my mom had done laundry for me. I put on my uniform and put my bow in my hair. I pulled on my socks and shoes and decide to check my face in the mirror. I decide to leave the little eyeliner that is left on and wipe off the remaining makeup. Before I grab my bag to head downstairs I hear a knock on my door.

“Yes? You can come in.”

The door opens and I’m expecting my mom to come walking through the door. “Hey, do you think you’re ready yet?” In comes the broad shouldered guy that is now my boyfriend. When he finally sees me he looks me up and down and smiles. “I guess so.” He then shuts the door.

I grab his tie and bring him down for a kiss. It totally catches him off guard and I grab the back of his neck. I deepen the kiss and he starts to melt and kiss me back. I open my mouth and our tongues meet. “Mmm…” I pull back and we lean our heads on each other’s foreheads. “I’ve been waiting to do that all morning.”

“[f/n],” he’s trying to catch his breath, “What was that about?”

“I wanted a kiss and you’ve been avoiding it all morning.”

“That was hot.” I just smirk. So I can get him hot and bothered too. “But we really need to head to school.” And then gets really close to me and whispers “If you’re not careful I’m not going to be able to control myself next time.” My knees go weak and he catches me. I can hear his sweet laughter.

“I guess we should head to school.” I concede. “Do I look okay?” I straighten my hair out and pat my skirt flat.

“You look beautiful.” He always knows how to make me blush.

“Well, thanks.” I rush out of the room dragging him behind me.

I hoist my bag on my shoulder. “Well Kaa-san, I’m going to head out.”

“We’re talking about this when you get back.” She just eyes me.

“Hai.” I wave goodbye to her.

* * *

 

I then walk hand in hand with Makoto to school. “I’m kind of nervous to go home and face my mom.” I chuckle.

“You’ll be fine,” he squeezes my hand, “I bet she’s just worried about you.”

“I know but she can be scary when she wants to be.”

“I can imagine.”

I just look at him. It was like he said that last statement from experience. “Was she mean to you?”

“No.”

“Makoto.” I eye him down.

“Uh, fine. You’re going to be the death of me I swear. She just warned me before our first date to treat you right.”

I just shake my head. “Don’t worry about her. She’s really just all bark. But I wouldn’t mind if you did treat me right.” I look up at him. I really did love our height difference.

“Don’t worry I will.” He smiles sweetly down at me. All of sudden I hear the familiar sound of the school ahead. It kind of was sad sound. I didn’t want to part from Makoto just yet. I frowned just slightly. I guess he could feel my feelings. “Don’t worry we’ll see each other again. Maybe we could eat lunch together.”

“I would like that but I think Kou would kill me if I didn’t have lunch with her today.” I pointed my head over to where Kou was standing. Her eyes were basically almost out of her sockets and her mouth was just held open.

“Yeah, good luck with that. I’ll text you later then okay?” I just nod to him. Then he did something I didn’t expect. He grabbed me and pecked me on the forehead. I just blushed furiously.

“Are you okay with that?” I asked him.

“I am.”

“Okay. I’ll text you later.”

* * *

 

I started walking towards Kou and I could tell I had a lot to explain. She was not going to let me get away with not telling her what happened. She was about to explode.

Before she had a chance to ask me any questions I put my hand up, “I’ll explain everything at lunch. We don’t need to be late to class.”

She pouted but she nodded her head, “Alright, but you better not leave anything out.”

We headed to class and it took all I had to focus on class. I just would replay what happened the night before. Every time I remembered our kiss I would get a swirling feeling in my stomach. It didn’t help that all through class Kou was passing me notes wanting to know what happened. I had to constantly remind her that she agreed to wait until lunch. I didn’t want to risk the teacher finding out what happened if we got caught.

After what seemed like forever, lunch time had finally arrived. Kou and I climbed the stairs up to the roof and we got our lunches set out. I decided to eat lunch on the roof so no one would overhear us.

Kou plopped down on the floor crossing her legs, “So, you can’t avoid it any longer.” I just sigh. “You can’t sigh now. I saw you two this morning. What happened?? Before you couldn’t even talk to him and now you’re walking hand in hand with him to school.”

“Well, I guess I’ll start at the beginning then.” She perked up. I told her how we went to a little restaurant and how we decided to go for a walk instead of going to the movies. “We were going to just drop by his house to pick something up but his brother and sister had other ideas.” I continued.  I told her how I had stayed at his place and played with the twins and how we played video games in his room. “Then all of a sudden he said he couldn’t hold back anymore and he kissed me. It was getting hot and heavy but I had to stop him. I had to know where I stood with him.”

.“Mmmhmm… good job [f/n]-chan. You can’t let him take advantage of you like that.” She agreed with me.

“So then….”

“Yes?”

“He asked me to be his girlfriend.”

“EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!” “You said yes right?!?!”

I just look at her, “Are you kidding me? Of course I said yes!”

She started jumping up and down in her spot. “OMG! This is amazing! I’m so happy for you [f/n]-chan.”

I smile.

“You’re not done yet?!?” I just shake my head no. “Well what are you waiting for?!? Come on continue!!”

“Alright, well after he asked me he suggested we just cuddle on his bed. So that’s what we did. And then I guess I fell asleep.” She was kind of adorable just enjoying the story I was telling. “Apparently he didn’t wake me up, called my mom and I stayed the night at his house.”

“Oh. My. God.”

“And when I woke up I was kind of bewildered. Then he walked into his room. Apparently he had just taken a shower and he just walked into his room in just a towel.” I was blushing just thinking about it. “Let’s just say those muscles look even better close up.”

Kou just started fanning herself. “Oh my. I can only imagine.”

“So I’m dating Tachibana Makoto now.” I finish up.

“I’m so happy for you [f/n]-chan. Our hard work finally paid off!” I just chuckle at her exuberance.

“Yeah, thanks Kou-san. I couldn’t have done any of this without you.” I thank her.

She just waves at me as if it wasn’t a big deal. “It’s what friends are for. I know you would do the same for me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry this chapter was so long! 5,000+ words? I can't believe that. Thanks for reading though. I'm finally found the end to the first part of this fic though. 
> 
> As always check me out on [tumblr](http://dianexchan.tumblr.com/)


	17. Party for Rin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Going away party for Rin Rin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long to update this. I had my engagement party to plan so I was everywhere. :P

Friday came before we knew it and Kou and I were decorating my house for Rin’s surprise party. My mom had helped us buy the decorations and she had bought the food. We had made a cute sign that said “We’ll miss you Rin!” We were currently trying to hang it up. I was up on a ladder and Kou was directing to whether it was straight or not.

“Is this good?” I ask for her advice.

“A little to the left.” All of a sudden we heard a knock at the door. I looked at the clock on the wall and it was only 5:30.

Hmm… “Kou could you get that; I still need to hang this to the wall.”

“Sure” she said as she walked to the door. I could hear her muffled voice, “Sure, come in.”

“Oh wow, this looks amazing.” I hear the stranger comment on the décor. Except I knew this stranger.

“AAHH!!!” I jump and then I lose my footing. I can feel myself falling; man this is going to hurt. Right when I thought I would hit the ground I didn’t feel the pain. I slowly open my eyes and two green eyes are staring back at me. I gulp as I resist the urge to kiss him. He was way too close.

“You got to be more careful [f/n]-chan. Luckily I was here to catch you.” I just blush and look away.

“Sorry and thanks.” I mumble and reluctantly try to stand up.

“No you don’t.” He helps me to my feet and squeezes my hand and then lets it go. “Let me help you out. You need this here?” He barely stands on his tiptoes and tacks the sign in place.

I pout, “Yeah.”

“What?” he asks me perplexed.

“I could have done it myself.” I cross my arms.

He just chuckles and I relax a little. “I know, I just like helping you.” There’s that smile again.

“Thanks, I thought Haru would be with you??”

“Oh, he’s keep Rin preoccupied.” Makoto replied.

“Sousuke was going to do it but I was afraid he was going to get lost.” She chuckled. “Well that reminds me I better go pick up Sousuke. I’ll be back.” And Kou walked out the door. Me and Makoto were alone. In my house.

“So I hate to say this but I’m not that good at cooking.” He chuckles. “But I can help with the decorations.”

I chuckle, “Alright how about we do both together?”

“I like that idea.” So I walk over and grab a couple balloons and I also hand him some. We both start blowing them up and as they reach the desired size we tie them off. And then I get an idea. As he turns around to pick up a balloon that had fallen I grab the end of the one I had just finished and stretched it back. I sent it flying towards the back of his head and it makes a satisfying plop! on the back of his head.

He just turns around and looks at the ground. I quickly turn to look at the sign acting like nothing happened. “Oh, you’re going to play that game huh?” I can hear him grab a balloon but I don’t dare look at him.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” I hear a balloon being stretched. Just as it goes flying I dodge out of the way just in time. “Ha!” I stick my tongue out at him. Then I see him crouch down in a predatory stance.

“Hey…” I step back, and then all of a sudden he pounces on me and starts tickling me on my sides. “HEY! HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!” I’m squirming everywhere.

“So you’re ticklish huh?” I see a devilish smirk on his face.

“Hey! Hahahahaha…Stop it!” I plead.

“Maybe if you ask nicely.”

“Please, pretty please??? Hahahaha… Ma-ko-chan!!”

“Okay fine,” we were on the floor and he was over top of me with both of his arms on either side of my face. His eyes seem to grow softer and I can feel this tension in the air. I just close my eyes and he kisses me. I just sigh into the kiss and start to kiss him back. I can feel his fingers in my hair.

Bzzzz. Bzzzz.

I end the kiss with a sigh. “I think that’s my phone,” I breathe out.

He just hangs his head, “Yeah we should probably finish decorating,” he starts to chuckle. “We got to learn to focus better than this.”

I chuckle, “I guess so. I just really missed you Mako.”

He smiles, “Mako, I like that.” I just blush. “I missed you too.”

I look at my phone. It was Kou saying she was 10 minutes away. So she knows. I send her a quick text telling her thank you.

I look back up at Makoto. “Could you hang these up at the ends of the sign and then we can finish the food.”

“Sure thing,” He grabs some tape and some balloons and I walk into the kitchen to start the food. Before I leave I get one more look at his cute butt. “I saw that.”

I blush and run to the kitchen. “Again I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I call back to him. I open the fridge and grab some of the vegetables. I wash them and then I start cutting them into bite size pieces and place them strategically on the plate. I then got some rice crackers out and set them out. I then started forming some pork and then some plum onigiri. I finally got my cake I had baked the night before and the icing I had also made out. By that time, I heard some footsteps behind me.

“This looks really good [f/n]-chan.” I smile as I stir the icing a little.

“Thank you.” I then feel his arms wrap around me.

“You’re so beautiful.” He whispers in my ear. I turn around and lean my back on the counter.

“Thank you.” I get up on my tip toes and he meets me for a kiss. I wrap my arms around his neck and hum in contentment. He cradled my face with his hand and I tighten my grip. I grab his hair and I hear him moan. I pull him closer. We started kissing for a while apparently even though it didn’t feel like that long.

“Uh-hmmm.” I hear someone clear their throat. I break off the kiss and see Kou standing there smirking. “Hate to break up you two love birds but we have a party to throw.”

I just blush, “Uh, yeah sorry.”

“Sorry,” Makoto apologizes and stands close to me.

“I’m going to finish up the cake now.” I turn and face the counter.

“Alright, good. I’m going to finish up hanging up the streamers. Nagisa should be showing up pretty soon.” Kou informs me.

“Do you need any help?” I ask her.

“No I don’t think so, and if I need any help I’ll get Sousuke to help me.” She smiles at me and leaves the room.

I turn around and start stirring the icing again. I start humming a little song I just made up and grab a spatula out of the drawer below. I also grab a cake board I had bought from the cabinet and put one layer of the round cake on that.

“So what kind of cake are you making?” I hear Makoto next to me.

“Just a vanilla cake. I know Rin doesn’t like sweets all that much so the icing is a whipped icing. It isn’t as sweet.” I start rambling. “Oh, sorry if I’m rambling on too much.”

“No, I like it. I’m getting to see a side of you I’ve never seen before. Can I watch?”

“Sure but it might be a little boring.”

“It’s alright. As long as I’m not a bother.”

I smile and look at him to the side. “You’re never a bother.” I nudge him with my elbow.

He just chuckles a little and grabs a stool and sits down beside me. I take the spatula and put some icing on the first layer and spread it out evenly and then grab the second layer and put it on top of that. I then put more icing on the top of the cake and start spreading the icing to cover the whole cake. I then put the spatula in my icing bowl and grab a plastic scraper from the drawer I got the spatula from.

“What’s that for?” I hear him ask beside me. I jump a little because I kind of forgot he was there. I sometimes go into my own little world when I’m decorating cakes. When I was younger right after I quit swimming I found cake decorating to be one of the hobbies that I took up.

“Oh, um it helps smooth out the icing a little better than the spatula. See?” and I demonstrate to him. I grab the other side of the cake and hold the scraper up to the side of the cake and then I turn the turntable while holding the scraper to the side of the cake. I see his eyes widen at my technique and it create a perfectly smooth edge. And then I take the scraper and pull the edges that are sticking up around the cake to the center and smooth out the top.

“That’s amazing [f/n]-chan!!!” he seems really excited.

“Um, thanks.” I blush.

“What are you going to do next?” he asks me inquisitively.

“You’ll just have to wait and see.” I can hear him chuckle.

As I finish writing “We Will Miss You Rin” on the cake I hear Kou greet Nagisa. I could tell it was Nagisa; his voice was identifiable. I guess I better finish up so I can be a good host.

“There. That should do it.” I say to myself.

I can feel Makoto look over my shoulder, “That looks amazing [Nickname]-chan.”

I smile up at Makoto and then admire my work. I had drawn a shark leaping out of the water and the whole cake had a shell top and bottom border. The writing was also in red to match Rin’s hair. “Thanks Mako.” “Well I guess we better go meet the others. I’m all done in here.” He just nods and follows me into the living room.

“Hey guys!” I greet Sousuke and Nagisa.

“Hi [f/n]-chan!” Nagisa runs up and embraces me. “Thanks for having the party at your house!”

“It’s no problem,” I mumble embarrassed by the attention. I’m still trying to get used Nagisa. I feel a hand on my lower back I try to not act startled and just look up at Makoto. He’s just smiles at me and my heart almost skips a beat.

* * *

 

**Kou**

[f/n] and Makoto were really cute together. You could really see how much Makoto cared about her, always close to her side and making sure she was comfortable. The fact that he moved so fast when she fell off the ladder earlier surprised me. I had never seen him look so worried before.

Luckily I had gone to go get Sousuke because he tried coming by himself but he was so lost.

“I’m not lost,” he had tried to defend himself.

“Mmhmm…”

After I had caught Makoto and [f/n]-chan in the kitchen they had finished up the cake pretty quickly and came to greet everyone in the living room.

“Oh [f/n]-chan, this is Sousuke. Rin’s friend from Sano Elementary.” I introduced him.

“Oh, hi Sousuke. I’m [l/n][f/n], a first year at Iwatobi Middle.” She introduced herself and bowed. And that was when I saw it. I looked over at Sousuke and he just nodded. She looked back at Makoto and didn’t see what I saw. She never did. I looked at Sousuke and he never took his eyes off her. He didn’t look at me, he didn’t look at Makoto, he didn’t even look Nagisa. Just her. I then saw him swallow hard and then I saw his eyes turn somber. He must have guessed what we already knew. She only had eyes for Makoto. Poor Sousuke.

“Nice, nice to meet you [l/n]-san” he bowed. If he wasn’t careful Makoto might catch on.

“You might want to not stare as hard,” I whisper to Sousuke, “Makoto might notice.”

I can see a slight tinge of pink on his cheeks. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he mumbles.

“Mmhmm…”

“So [f/n]-chan,” I hear Nagisa start.

“Hmm??”

“Are you and Mako-chan dating now or what???”

I nearly choke on the air. “What?!?”

“Come on [f/n]-chan, are you?? Everyone wants to know!”

* * *

 

“Nagisa!” Kou reprimands him, “Don’t forc…”

“Yeah we are.” Makoto just states. He looks down at me and face must be as red as an apple. Well this was one way for everyone to find out. All you can hear is silence and then we hear Kou’s phone buzzing.

“Oh Crap! Everyone hide! Rin is like 2 minutes away!” we all scramble and find a hiding spot except for me like we planned. It would be weird if Haru could just open a door to a house he had never been to.

“Shh!!!!” I order them. I hear two muffled voices on the other side of the door. I had turned out the big light and left a lamp on to make it seem like I was reading or something.

“Why are we even here?” Rin complains.

“Because Makoto forgot one of his books at here. He asked me to pick it up for him” Haru deadpans.

“Why is one of his books here? At [f/n]-san’s house?” he did have a point.

“They were studying together. Don’t worry about it. We won’t be here long.”

“Mmhmm… Studying. So you know Makoto pretty well, are they dating yet or what?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t know you knew.” I hear Haru knock.

“Well… Kou…” I hear Rin start. Rin stop while you’re ahead. I open the door.

“Hi Haru, Hi Rin. How are you guys tonight?” I hope I wasn’t sounding too stiff.

Haru just gave me a look. Apparently I wasn’t doing too well of a job, “We’re okay, Makoto left one of his books and I was here to come pick it up.”

“Oh yeah, Makoto told me about that.” I see Rin’s face light up. I forgot he was out of the loop on Makoto and me. I thought Kou would have told him. “Why don’t you two come in and I’ll go grab it?”

They walk in and take off their shoes and start heading to the couch. “Would you guys like anything to drink?” I say as I turn on the overhead light.

Then all of a sudden everyone jumps out, “SURPRISE!!!!” Rin nearly falls off the couch. I just smile and I think I can see a smirk on Haru’s face.

“You guys…” I think I can see tears forming in the corners of his eyes.

“Don’t cry…” I hear Haru whisper.

“I’m not crying!!!” and we all laugh. We socialize and tell Rin how much we are going to miss him. He opens his gifts and we all eat until we are full.

* * *

 

“Thanks guys so much, this means so much to me!”

“We’re not done yet!” I tell him and I run to go get the cake. “Sorry I couldn’t get you a gift, but I know you don’t like sweet stuff so this cake I cut down on the sugar.”

Everyone looks at the cake in awe. Everyone seems so impressed and I’m really trying not to blush.

“That is amazing [f/n]-chan!” Nagisa praises me and eventually everyone chimed in. I’m not used to all this praise so it was a little foreign to me.

“Let me take a picture of everyone before we cut the cake.” Kou offers, “Everyone stand under the banner.”

“Just a minute!” I put my finger up and go to my room to grab something out of my closet. Kou just looks at me like I’m weird. She would thank me in a minute. I grabbed the item and ran downstairs. I hid it behind my back hoping Kou wouldn’t see it.

“Here.” I hand the item to her. It was a tripod for her camera. “So you can be in the picture too.”

She smiles and I can see how sincere it is. She wasn’t going to cry; she was stronger than that but I knew what that smile meant. “Thanks [f/n]-chan.” She set up the camera on the tripod and set the timer on the camera. As we hear the timer beep down we all smile and wait for the flash. “Alright one more!” And she sets it up for a second time.

“Thanks so much for everything. I’m going to miss you guys so much.” Rin thanks all of us and we can see tears forming again in his eyes.

I just smile, “We’re going to miss you too Rin. You just have to promise to keep in touch!”

We all say our goodbyes and only Sousuke, Kou and Makoto are left. They were helping me clean up and Kou was sweeping and Sousuke took out the last of the trash.

“Thanks for the help. This really helps me out a lot.”

“It’s no problem. It’s the least that we could do. Thanks for hosting the party, I think everyone had a great time.” Kou smiles at me. “Well, Sousuke we better head out. We don’t want it getting too dark.” I then see her wink at me and I just blush. She didn’t have to keep doing this. She was dragging Sousuke out the door and Sousuke just nodded to me.

“Thanks for having us over. Hope we didn’t intrude.” Man Sousuke seemed really polite.

I smile, “It’s no problem. Thanks for coming.” And then the door just closed.


	18. After Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Makoto kisses. :P

“Do you mind if I stay a little longer?” Makoto looked down at me and I just nodded my head no.

“I can give you a tour of my house if you want. You’ve never been here before.” I offered and he just smiled.

“Well this is the living room of course and that was the kitchen” I pointed to the kitchen. I turned and started heading up the stairs. “Down by the foot of the stairs was one of the bathrooms.” And I can feel him following close behind me. We got to the top of the stairs. “That way is towards my mother’s room.” I point to right and then I turn to the left. “That is the second bathroom,” I point “And then this,” I turn to the open door, “Is my room.” I walk into my room and stand awkwardly in the center as he walks in.

“You have a really nice home.” He whispers out.

“Thank you.” I mumble. I turn to sit down on my bed. “Sorry we only have one TV.” Why was I so nervous? Maybe because this was the first guy ever to be in my bedroom. I feel the bed shift next to me.

“I don’t mind. We can just talk if you want. I just like spending time with you.” He speaks real low next to me.

“I like spending time with you too Makoto.” I smile up at him.

“I’m glad. I really had a fun time at the party and I think everyone else did too.” He just smiles at me squinting his eyes ever slightly.

“I’m glad. I was really nervous; I had never hosted a party before.” I felt him push my hair on my right side behind my ear.

“There really wasn’t anything to worry about.” He looks into my eyes. I mumble ‘Mmhmm’. I think I got lost in his eyes again. I really did love his eyes.

“Your eyes are beautiful,” I mumble. I see his cheeks go red and then I realize I must have said that out loud. Oh no…this is so embarrassing. “I’m so sorry! Forget I said anything!” I turn my head down. I feel his hand on mine in my lap.

“No, thank you [f/n]-chan. I think you’re beautiful too.” I feel his finger under my chin, “You can look at me too. I’m your boyfriend now, you can look all you want to.” I can feel him chuckle.

I look up at him, “I’m still not used to saying you’re my boyfriend.” I chuckle.

“I noticed.” He hand comes up and rests on my right cheek.

He leans down and I close my eyes. I then feel his lips against mine. He feels so warm and comforting; like home. I start to kiss him back and I can feel his finger tangle into my hair. He clenches his fingers pulling a little on my hair and I catch my breath. It feels so good. It seems to spur him on and he kisses me harder and more passionately. I can feel his tongue against my lips and I gasp. He runs his tongue against my open lips and I just moan. His every touch just sets my whole body on fire.

“Mmm...” he moans and then thrusts his tongue into my mouth and kisses me passionately. I run my tongue against his teeth and I can feel him shiver. He runs his hands up and down my arms and I start to lean back on to the bed. He breaks off the kiss and I suck on his bottom lip. I let go and his lip made a satisfying ‘pop’ sound. I bite my lip and I can swear I feel myself getting aroused. Man he was an amazing kisser. “God, [f/n] you’re so sexy.” My cheeks warm and he situates me better onto the bed. “Is this okay?” I just nod. “Just tell me if you want to stop; okay?” I nod my head again.

He puts hands on either side of my head and plays with my hair that is splayed out around my head on the bed. He then dives down and kisses me on the forehead first and then travels down. He kisses my forehead, down to my eyebrow, my nose, and then finally to my lips. We start making out again and I suck on his tongue and I can feel him melt into the kiss and I can hear him moan. I start to feel a hardness against his leg and I try not to freak out about it. But it made me start to think about where this could head and if I really wanted that. And I really wasn’t sure.

“[f/n]?” apparently he had stopped.

“Hmm??”

“Are you okay?” he looks at me worried. He is so close to my face. I really can’t believe that I’m dating him of all people.

I smile real big, “Yes, you’re just a really good kisser.” He just smiles above me.

“So are you.” “If you want… you can touch me. I have a feeling that you want to but are too afraid to.”

I just blush, “Okay, if that’s what you want.”

He gets down right next to my ear and whispers, “I like it when you touch me.”

I gasp and bring him down for a kiss. I kiss him hard; I just couldn’t help it.

“Mmm…” he moans and then breaks off the kiss and starts kissing me on the neck. He then starting kissing me on the collarbone and then I felt his teeth graze my skin.

“Aah..” I moan and he looks up at me and smirks. I didn’t even know I liked that kind of thing. I then felt him bite my neck and on pure instinct my back arched and I moaned. He kissed up my neck and then sucked on my ear. He nibbled and flicked my earlobe with his tongue. Everything he did felt so good and I didn’t want it to stop. Well he did say I could touch him so I embraced him and gave in to my temptations. I caressed his back and felt each one of his muscles. I shuddered. I really did love his back muscles.

“That’s it [f/n], that feels so good.” I hear him moan above me. I’m breathing so fast right now. I’m still caressing his back and I decide to get adventurous and I grab his butt. “Mmm…” I squeeze and for some reason its turning me on to see him getting turned on. I travel back up to his back but I wonder if it’s okay if I feel his back under his shirt. I touch the small of his back that is exposed to test the waters and he just nods as if knowing what I was thinking. I let my hand travel farther up his back and his back feels better than ever imagined. His bare skin is so soft under my fingers and his hard muscles just send my stomach aflutter.

“You feel so good [f/n].” he breathes against the skin of my neck and then bites it once more.

“You do… too… Makoto.” I breathe out.

He caresses my stomach and my waist and it seems like he’s asking for permission to touch me. I swallow hard and nod my head. I feel his hand caress my stomach and then I feel his hand on my breast. I gasp. It feels good and I didn’t know it would. He squeezes my breast and massages it. “Mmm…” I writhe beneath him. “Aahh…Makoto.” I can see him gulp hard. It looks like he was having an argument with himself.

“Makoto?” he just swallows. “If you don’t want to go any farther; that’s okay too.”

“No,” he shakes his head, “It’s fine. You look so beautiful. It’s hard for me to believe sometimes.”

I blush, “Stop it.” I playfully hit his arm, “You’re going to start saying it so much I’m going to start believing it.”

“I hope you do because you are.” I just blush and he kisses my cheeks. “You’re adorable when you blush.”

I just kiss him so he doesn’t embarrass me anymore and I can hear him chuckle. I embrace him and hold him tight. “Makoto,”

“Hmm???” he’s now laying on his side next to me combing through my hair with his fingers. I shift and lay on my side to look at him better.

“I kind of want to tell you something but I’m afraid it’s too early to tell you.”

“If it’s your feelings, it’s never too early.”

I gulp. “Well, you know that I like you a lot right?” He just nods. “Well, I…” I bite my lip. It was now or never. “Makoto,” I look up at him, “I love you.”

I hear him gasp and I’m preparing for him to say that he doesn’t feel the same and that he has to leave. “[f/n]…” I close my eyes preparing for the worst. He lifts up my chin and I open my eyes, “I love you too.”

I smile the biggest smile I could muster and I feel tears forming in my eyes. “You..you love me too.” I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him.

He chuckles under the kiss, “Of course.” And then he kisses me back. He traces intricate circles on my back as he kisses me. I couldn’t be any happier. He gently pushes me on my back and straddles me. He kisses my neck and everywhere his lips touched it felt like it was on fire. Then all of a sudden I hear something.

“Stop..” I whisper.

“Why??” He continues. Really I didn’t want him to stop but if it was my mother I would be in so much trouble if she found him in my room with me.

“I think my mom just got home.” And I was right. I heard her put the keys on the table and a muffled _‘Tadaima!’_ “Get up! If she finds us like this, I’ll be in so much trouble!”

He gets up faster than I’ve ever seen him move. “Go to the bathroom and I’ll explain to her that you were helping me clean up and you had to use the restroom before you went home.” He just nods and heads out of my room.

* * *

 

I head downstairs to greet my mom. “Okaeri.”

She looks up at me and smiles, “How was the party?”

“It went really well. Makoto and I just finished cleaning up.”

“You and Makoto huh?” she raises her eyebrow.

“He was about to head home but had to use the bathroom.”

“Mmhmm…” just buy it please. Please, please please. “Well I’m glad it was a success. I’m really going to miss Rin-san.”

“I am too.” I then could hear Makoto coming down the stairs.

“Oh, good evening Makoto-san.” My mom bows her head to him. “Thanks for helping my daughter tonight.” She smiles.

“It was the least I could do.” Makoto started. “Thank you for allowing us into your home.” He bows his head in return. “Well I better head home before my parents start to worry too much about me. Thank you again Ms. [l/n]. And I’ll see you at school soon [f/n].” He then bows my head to me too.

“Thank you for taking care of my daughter.” I hear her say to him, “And travel safe.”

I walk him to the door and hear my mother walk into the kitchen. “Sorry you had to leave so soon.”

“It’s okay, I had an amazing time. I’ll text you.” I nod and hold the door open for him. He then kisses me on the cheek and whispers in my ear, “I love you, [f/n].” I blush and try to not get to flustered. He smirks and waves goodbye to me. “I love you too Makoto.” I whisper. And he just smiles.

“So…” my mother starts as she’s drinking some tea.

“Yes??” I feign ignorance.

“I’m glad the party went well. Why didn’t Kou stay and help you clean up?”

“Well she had to take Sousuke-san home. Apparently he gets lost really easily.”

“Oh okay. Luckily you had someone here to help you out. What did they think of the cake? Did you guys take pictures?”

“They loved it. Thanks for helping out so much with the food. And Kou has pictures on her camera. I’ll have her send me some.”

“Alright. I’m glad you had fun. I had a long day at work so I’m going to go ahead and go to bed. Good Night.”

“Good night Kaa-san.” I watched her walk to her room and I sigh in relief.

“Oh,” my mom peeks her head out from her bedroom door, “You might want to cover that up with makeup tomorrow.” And she points to my neck. I flush and she chuckles. I run to the bathroom and look at my reflection. Sure enough all along my neck were red bite marks and red bruises from his kisses. Oh.My.God. I’m so embarrassed. Well I guess my mom knows what we were doing now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was fun to write. It's all fluffy but I fear I made Makoto a little too mature for being a teenager. Hmm. *shrugs* I don't know. Let me know what you guys think in the comments.
> 
> I also decided to post 2 chapters since I've fallen off the wagon. Hope you guys like the story so far. I may start writing another story soon.
> 
> As always, check out my [tumblr](http://dianexchan.tumblr.com/)


	19. Missing Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the party we all saw Rin off to his flight to Australia. He promised to keep in touch but it really was a bittersweet farewell. We all would miss him; he was a very important person in all of our lives. But we did move on with our lives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for all the angst. I know I write way too much angst.

After the party we all saw Rin off to his flight to Australia. He promised to keep in touch but it really was a bittersweet farewell. We all would miss him; he was a very important person in all of our lives. But we did move on with our lives. Nagisa transferred to another school; I heard that it was a school that focused mainly on academics which confused me a little. Nagisa really didn’t seem like the studying type. Kou and I still stayed best friends but I could tell she missed her brother. He still wrote but it must have been hard for her. And Haru…Haru had found out why swimming was important to him. Makoto and Haru went to Iwatobi Junior High and so did me and Kou. Haru and Makoto joined the swim team and eventually Haru decided to join the medley relay team. Makoto soon followed and Asahi Shiina and Ikuya Kirishima also swam with them. Everything seemed to be going smoothly but it was obvious we all missed Rin.

As Haru and Makoto started swimming in the swim club, I saw Makoto less and less. I understood; he had club duties. I really did miss him though. We went on less and less dates and sometimes it would take him hours or maybe even a day for him to text me back. I tried not to dwell on it too much. I ate lunch with Kou a lot more now and I was glad our friendship hadn’t been hindered because of my relationship with Makoto.

“I haven’t heard you talk about Makoto much lately.” Kou mentioned at lunch one day.

I swallowed hard and tried to not let her see how hurt I was. “Yeah, well he has swim club now. He hasn’t had much time to do much other than that.” She just nodded. I think she could tell I didn’t want to talk about it.

“Oh, well aren’t they having a competition soon? Maybe you could go.”

“They are?” I tried to hide my surprise.

Kous eyes just widened. “Yeah, it’s this weekend. I can go with you if you want. Has he not told you about the other ones?”

I just shook my head no. “Maybe he just forgot. He’s had a lot on his mind lately.” I looked to the side trying to hide my tears that threatened to fall. How could he not tell me? He knew that I would want to be there. I would support him in anything.

“Oh, well we can go. So, what plans do you have for New Year’s? Are you and your mom going to do anything?”

“Oh no, she has to work that night. I’ll probably just go visit the shrine by myself and then watch some tv.” Why did I sound so somber about it? Maybe because I wish I could spend it with Makoto? I’m so glad she didn’t ask about Christmas. I really had no plans, Makoto hadn’t said anything about it. I was going to make him a small chocolate cake but I had a feeling he wouldn’t be there to receive it.

“Oh no you don’t! Do you want to come with me and my family? Rin should be coming down for the holidays.”

“I would like that.” I smile but it doesn’t really reach my eyes.

* * *

 

Kou picks me up and we head to the IWSC for Makoto’s swim tournament. It was kind of bittersweet because this is where Makoto and I got together. I tried not dwell on memories that hurt too bad.

“I kind of anxious to see how they race now.” I nod my head with her.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen them swim.” We go and find our seats. Haru easily wins the freestyle and Makoto wins the backstroke. He really is beautiful when he swims. I smile in sad way. Like it’s a memory that’s fading away. I’m not going to cry today. And then the medley relay starts and I see them all line up. Makoto looks as breathtaking as the first time I saw him swim. I gasp as I see Haru. Something is missing in his expression.

“Is Haru okay?”

“Hmm?? Oh, you see it too? I don’t know what happened. He just seems a little different when he swims the relay now.” I just nod.

They begin the race and the race just seems different but I can tell they are all working hard. They come in second place and my heart beams for them. After they get out and get their medals I see Makoto look up and his eyes lock with mine. His eyes go wide and I swear I see some hurt? Guilt? Surprise? in his eyes. I just smile down at him.

“Kou, I think I need to go. Is that okay with you?” I’m swallowing hard so the tears don’t fall. He didn’t expect me here. He didn’t want me here, that much was very apparent. She could see how fragile I was and just nodded. We got up and turned to leave. What I didn’t see was Makoto running towards the lobby without changing or showering. Without consulting his teammates. He just ran like his life depended on it. We were turning to the exit when all of a sudden I heard, “[f/n] STOP!!” [F/N]!!!! PLEASE STOP!!!!” I knew who it was and I really didn’t want to stop and turn around.

“Are you going to stop? I think it’s Makoto.” Kou whispers to me.

“I don’t want to but I’ll slow down.” Tears are falling from my eyes by now. I breathe in deeply and stop; waiting for him to catch up. I can hear his footsteps getting closer until they finally stop. I can feel Kou disappear from my side and step behind me.

“Hello Tachibana-kun.” I can hear Kou’s stern voice. So she was mad at him. And now she was protecting me. She really was a good friend.

“Hello Gou-san. Could I talk to [f/n]-chan?” I gasped. I hadn’t heard his voice in so long. I hadn’t realized how much I had missed it. I had to be strong; no matter how much I wanted to sob.

“Why? You didn’t know she was going to be here. You didn’t even invite her.” I heard him intake a breath. Now he knew that she knew what he had done. I looked behind me to sneak a peek at him and when he saw me was when he spoke.

“[f/n]! I’m so sorry! It totally slipped my mind to tell you about it. We had been training so hard that I totally forgot about it! I’m telling the truth! Please forgive me!”

“Why? You haven’t invited her to the other ones either….” I touch Kou on the shoulder.

“It’s okay. I’ll talk to him.”

“Are you sure.” I just nod and she steps back.

“[f/n], I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you about this! Please forgive me.” Tears were still falling and I couldn’t stop them. I missed his face and voice so much. I missed his sweet words and his touches. Why couldn’t it go back to the way it used to be?

“It’s hard for me to believe you just forgot Makoto.”

“But I…”

“It seemed like when you saw me, that you weren’t expecting me. That you hadn’t invited me on purpose. Because you…didn’t want me here.” It was hard for me to say that last part but it’s what I felt.

“I…” I swallowed. So it was true. It was hard to face what I was already feeling. “There’s just a lot going on that I can’t explain right now…”

“It’s alright. I’m going to go home. Congratulations on your win Makoto. I hope you have a good night.” I was on the brink of sobbing now. I had to get out of there so I just turned around and started walking home. I could feel Kou close behind me.

“I can’t believe that…” She then looked at me and saw the heartbreak in my eyes. She steered me behind a building. I could feel her hand on my shoulder. “It’s alright, [f/n]-chan. You can cry. I’m here.” And really that was all that I needed. Her permission to cry and I just broke down. I knelt down and just sobbed.

“Why….why is this happening Kou? What did I do that wasn’t enough?” I was barely making out sentences as I continued to cry. “W..w..why….” “Wha..what happened to us?” I just cried and cried while Kou held me. I cried into her shoulder and was thankful she was there.

“Just cry it all out. I don’t know [f/n]. I don’t know.” I could feel her rubbing my back in comfort.

“I….I…. I don’t….I don’t even know if we’re together anymore. He hasn’t texted me in 3 days and that was the first time I’ve seen him in two weeks.” I could hear her gasp. I sniffled and wiped my nose with some tissues I had in my bag. I could understand her surprise. We used to be attached at the hip, and now we barely talked. It had been eating at my heart for a while.

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner [f/n]?”

“I don’t know; I guess I thought it would resolve itself.”

I could hear her sigh, “I’m not going to get on to you this time because that is the last thing that you need right now but that’s why I’m hear [f/n]. I’m here to listen, to offer advice, a shoulder to cry on, and sometimes someone to stand up for you when you’re being treated badly. Please. Please, let me be that person [f/n].”

I nodded, “I’m sorry Kou-chan.”

“Don’t worry about it. Let’s go get you something to drink.” She helped me get up. I’m glad she didn’t say anything bad about Makoto because that’s not what I needed right now. We walked home and talked about trivial things. By the end of the night I was feeling a lot better. That was until I got home.

* * *

 

I had greeted my mom and we talked for a bit but eventually we both went to bed. I was emotionally exhausted and I just wanted to sleep. I hadn’t told my mom what had happened and I hadn’t told her how I had been feeling lately. I just kept it hidden. I didn’t want to explain. So I went up to my room and took out my phone. As I was going to plug it in for the night I noticed I had some text messages. All of them from Makoto.

When you looked at our message thread you could see how much I was trying. Every day I would ask how he was doing. I asked him if he wanted to do anything for Christmas. (Which took a lot for me. I actually asked him out.) I asked him what he was doing for New Year’s. I told him that missed him and that I wished I could see him soon. Every message was ignored. I held out hope that he was just too busy to reply but I think for me that was a lie I kept telling myself to keep my head above water.

_MAKOTO:_

_[f/n], I’m so sorry! I should have paid more attention to you. I really am sorry with all of my heart. Please accept my apology. Please [f/n], I don’t want to lose you._

_[f/n]-chan. I can understand why you’re upset with me and you have every right to be. I should have paid more attention to you. I’m so sorry [f/n]. So please, let me make it up to you. Let’s go out on Christmas. Just me and you. We can do whatever that you want. We can meet up downtown at 6pm. What do you say?_

Why now of all times? Tears started to fall again. But I really did want to see him.

_ME:_

_Alright. We can go out. I’ll meet you at 6 at the big Christmas Tree._

I guess he was waiting for me to reply. I kind of felt vindictive and I hoped he waited all night. A little of his own medicine. Within seconds I got a reply.

_MAKOTO:_

_Thank You so much [f/n]! You won’t regret this. I love you._

I couldn’t reply to that. I just plugged in my phone and cried myself to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading this chapter. Thanks to everyone that has stuck with this fic for so long! I know it's pretty long. Sorry. :(
> 
> As always you can follow me on [tumblr](http://dianexchan.tumblr.com/)


	20. Christmas Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christmas Day got here sooner than I expected. I had decided to go ahead and make Makoto’s cake for him as a gift. I knew he loved chocolate and I hoped he appreciated my gift. I got dressed up for a first date in almost 4 months. I couldn’t contain my giddiness; it had been so long since I had been on a date. But I wasn’t getting my hopes up too high, Makoto had a lot to prove for me to welcome him back.

Christmas Day got here sooner than I expected. I had decided to go ahead and make Makoto’s cake for him as a gift. I knew he loved chocolate and I hoped he appreciated my gift. I got dressed up for a first date in almost 4 months. I couldn’t contain my giddiness; it had been so long since I had been on a date. But I wasn’t getting my hopes up too high, Makoto had a lot to prove for me to welcome him back.

“I’ll be back around 10pm, Kaa-san. I’m going to go out for a bit.” She nodded to me.

“I hope you have fun, Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas, Kaa-san.” I smiled and headed out in to the cold.

I had pulled my scarf tighter around me and hugged myself in my coat to keep myself warm. It was really cold tonight and I just wanted to find somewhere warm. But I also was enjoying seeing the town decorated for Christmas. This was my first Christmas in Iwatobi. The lights just lit up the town with a joyous glow and I absolutely loved it. I walked with Makoto’s gift in hand and headed to the Christmas tree we had agreed on meeting up at. I went and grabbed a hot chocolate from a nearby coffee shop and sat on a bench near the tree. The tree was really beautiful and I just loved basking in its glow. I looked down at my phone. It was only 6:05. He was just a little late, I wasn’t too worried. He would show. I had finished my hot chocolate and looked down at my phone again. It was 6:30. He was 30 minutes late; I was starting to worry. No texts or anything. Maybe he just got caught up with his family. I decided to wait a little longer. I rubbed my hands together and waited for what seemed like forever and then I looked back down at my phone. It was 7:30. He was an hour and a half late. No way he could have stood me up. There was no way. I hope he was okay. I decided I was going to go check on him at his house.

I walked back and tried to remember the way to his house. I finally found it and knocked on the door. I was so nervous.

“Oh hello, [f/n]-chan. How are you? Why don’t you come in?" Mrs. Tachibana greeted me warmly.

“Oh, thank you.” I slipped off my shoes and was glad for some warmth.

“Would you like some tea?”

I just nodded and she went to grab some. I followed her into the kitchen. “So how are you on this Christmas night?”

“[f/n]-onee-san!” I felt two little kids at my hips. I looked down and smiled.

I knelt down and greeted the twins, “Good evening Ran and Ren. How is your Christmas going?”

“Good! We’ve been really good this year, so we hope we get lots of presents from Santa!” the twins tell me exuberantly.

“Speaking of Santa, you better head to bed soon or Santa won’t visit!” They widened their eyes in shock. “Santa only visits the houses of sleeping children.” I smirk at them.

“Okay! We’ll go to bed! [f/n] onee-san come tuck us in!” Ran bounded up at me.

“Yeah, please [f/n] onee-san! We haven’t seen you in so long!” I looked up at Mrs. Tachibana apologetically and she just chuckled and nodded.

“Alright,” I appease them and head up to their bedroom with them. They jump in bed. “Now remember to have sweet dreams.” I pull their blanket up to their chins.

“Why don’t you come see us anymore [f/n]-onee-san?” I hear Ran say after she yawns. I swallow hard. These poor kids, they don’t know what’s going on.

“Yeah we miss you.” Don’t cry. Don’t cry. Don’t cry.

“I’m sorry, I miss you two too. I’ll try to come and visit soon.” I don’t know if it will happen but I sure do hope so.

“Okay,” I see them both yawn. “Sweet dreams.” I kiss them both on the forehead and leave the room. I close the door and lean my head against the door. I’m not going to cry.

* * *

 

“They really do miss you [f/n].” I jump at Mrs. Tachibana’s presence. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. The tea is ready.”

“I’m sorry, and thanks. I miss them too. It’s like finally having little siblings of my own.” I smile at her.

“I’m glad. So you’re an only child?”

“Yes, Mrs. Tachibana-san.”

“Oh, and you can call me Shurui.” She chuckles. We sit down and sip on the tea. “So what brings you all the way over here?”

“Oh…” I blush. “Well I was wondering if Makoto was here. After I saw the twins I had a feeling he wasn’t but I wanted to visit with them too.”

“Yeah,” Shurui started, “He went out a couple of hours ago.” I swallowed hard.

“Oh, well. That box,” I pointed to the box I had wrapped. “It’s for Makoto. Could you give it to him for me?”

“Well sure, but…”

“Well, I better head home. My mother must be worried about me.” I cut her off. I really didn’t want to talk about it. Especially to Makoto’s mother. I had to get out of there. “Thank you for…” I felt her hand on mine.

“[f/n], do you need to talk about something? You seem to have something on your mind. I’m here to listen.”

I didn’t want to talk about it. Especially to his mother. My mind was telling me not to but my heart… My heart wouldn’t listen. I just broke down and cried. “Makoto was supposed to…. supposed to…take me out on a date tonight. But…but…he stood me up. We had a big fight after his tournament and this was supposed to be us making up but it feels like now he doesn’t want to now.” I just cried spilling out of the contents of my heart. “He hasn’t been talking to me lately and I haven’t seen him since our fight. I just wish things could go back to the way they used to be…” I sobbed. And she just let me cry it out. Rubbing my shoulder every few minutes.

“I’m not going to say I understand what my son is doing but I can understand your anguish. Christmas Eve is supposed to be a day for couples and you were alone.”

“Please don’t tell Makoto about this, can we just keep this between us? I need to think about things for a while.”

“Sure thing dear.”

“Well, I really should be heading home. I don’t want my mother worrying about me.” I smiled at her. “Thanks for listening and for the tea.”

“No problem.”

“Sorry for the intrusion.” I mumble as I slip on my shoes.

“You were in no way an intrusion. I just hope a smile finds its way to your face soon. Have a good night [f/n]-chan. And Merry Christmas.” She lays her hand on my shoulder and I smile up at her.

“Thank You, and Merry Christmas.”  I tighten my scarf around my neck and head down the road towards my house.

* * *

 

The road to my house from Makoto’s ran right past Haru’s. I had only been there once but I remembered it. All of sudden as I was walking when I heard a familiar voice.

“Good night, Haru.”

I turned around to investigate and there he was. Leaving Haru’s house. I swallowed hard. “Makoto??” Tears were forming at my eyes again. Man I was crying way too much.

He turned around slowly, “[f/n]? What are you doing here?”

“I…” I choked on a sob, “I’m going home.”

“But what about…”

“Our date?” I finished for him. “Look at your watch.” I snapped at him. I didn’t mean to sound so mean but I was getting tired of this.

He looked down… “9pm” I heard him whisper. Wow, I didn’t realize I had been at his house that long.

“I waited for an hour and a half. And then I went to go check on you at your house but you weren’t there. I’m tired. I’m going home.” I turned around with tears running down my face. When was I going to stop crying? I really thought I had cried all I could. I started walking faster.

“[f/n]! Please!” I felt him grab my wrist. I was just so emotionally drained. He turned me around and hugged me. “Please [f/n] stop. Please don’t leave.” I felt his lips touch the crown of my head. “Please don’t leave.”

“Why? I’m so tired Makoto. I’m tired of waiting for you. I cry myself to sleep every night and I’m emotionally drained every day. I message you every day but you ignore me. I can’t do this anymore.” I just hug him and hide my tears into his chest. Man he smelled like my Makoto. The Makoto I was losing day by day.

“Are…are…” I can hear emotion lace his voice. He pulls me back to look at me. “Are you breaking up with me?” Was I? I didn’t want to. But I was just so tired.

“I don’t know. I don’t know Makoto. I just think I need some time to think.” I shake my head back and forth.

“Okay…” I really wanted to be with him but, that meant I wanted to be WITH him.

“I’ll text you when I’ve come to a decision.” He just curtly nodded. “Good night and Merry Christmas.” “Oh and by the way Happy Late 6 month anniversary.” I smiled sadly at him.

“What??” his eyes when wide.

“Yeah, our 6 month anniversary was the day of your tournament.” My smile just wouldn’t reach my eyes.

I could see him swallow hard. “I’m sorry [f/n].”

“I’m sorry too.”

* * *

 

**Makoto**

What had I done? I had this one chance. Spend Christmas Eve with [f/n]-chan and I blew it. How did this happen? I just went to say Merry Christmas to Haru because I knew he was spending it alone. We talked for a while and then I saw her. In tears. I’ll never forget it as long as I live.

What I was doing wasn’t fair to her and I knew it. I just didn’t know how to balance Haru and [f/n]. Haru had been going through some rough times recently and I needed to be there for him. Things had never been the same since Rin left. I had tried to fill that void but nothing I did seemed to help. But I guess in the process I had forgotten about [f/n].

And now she almost broke up with me tonight. My world almost shattered with those words “I can’t do this anymore.” I had to change or I was going to lose her. But how to balance both? And the fact that I had missed such a big anniversary. It was official, I was the worst boyfriend in history.

 

I walked home in shame for what I had done to the girl that I had loved. I hadn’t been showing her the love that she needed. She was crying herself to sleep? What had I done? She had already gone through so much pain and now I was putting her through more.

I walked through the door to see my mother sitting at the table with a cup of tea.

“Tadaima Kaa-san.” I greeted my mother wondering why she was still up. I didn’t see my father or the twins.

“Okaeri Makoto. The twins are asleep. We need to talk.” She poured me a cup of tea as I sat down.

“Hai…” I sipped my tea slowly and my mother slid a box over to me. “What’s this?”

“[f/n] was over earlier and wanted me to give this to you.”

I slowly unwrapped the box and opened it. Within was a beautiful chocolate cake with chocolate icing and strawberries on top. There was an extravagant chocolate curl on top and the writing “Merry Christmas Mako” on top of it. I gasped. She had made this herself. I could tell. I swallowed hard trying not to get choked up.

“Did she make that for you?” I just nodded. “Makoto.” I heard my mom’s mom voice and I immediately looked up. “What are you doing?”

My eyes widened. “What do you mean?”

“What are you doing to that girl?” I swallowed hard. How did she know? “She came by and I felt like she was one of the family. She tucked the twins in to bed tonight. And then we had a talk. I repeat, what are you doing to that poor girl?”

“I, uh..”

“She just broke down crying right where you’re sitting. She told me not to tell you but you’re my son. And I did not teach you to break young girl’s hearts.” “She told me that you stood her up for your Christmas Eve date. That you hadn’t been talking to her. That you two had a big fight.” I flinched at each sentence because it was true and it sounded awful.

“I’m just…Haru is having a really tough time right now. I need to be there for him.”

“That doesn’t mean you abandon the girl you love.”

I looked down and whispered. “I know.

“Listen, I’m not going to tell you how to live your life. But I am going to give you some advice. You’ve got to learn to balance both your friends and girlfriend. If you don’t intend to be with [f/n], tell her. Yes, it may hurt at first but it’s better to let her move on.”

“…Kaa-san. You’re, you’re telling me to… to break up with…her?” I couldn’t keep my voice from showing my emotion. I couldn’t believe she was telling me this.

“That’s not what I’m saying dear. But she’s in so much pain right now. I could tell that much. Just from seeing how she was interacting with the twins tonight.” The twins? “They kept asking about her and I could see the anguish on her face when she couldn’t answer their questions because she didn’t know. She didn’t know when she would be able to see them again. When she would be able to see YOU again. And a girlfriend shouldn’t feel that way. Just think about it okay?? If you can balance both her and Haru, great. But if not, don’t leave her standing on the edge like this.”

I just swallowed hard and nodded to my mother.

“Alright well you better head to bed. Good night son.” She got up and headed to the office and I got up and cleaned up our cups. With all this silence it just left me time to think. Could I do both? Haru just seemed like he needed his best friend right now. After I finished cleaning I headed up to my room.

I laid down on my bed and opened my phone. And there she was on my background. I couldn’t believe what was happening. I opened up my text messaging app and there were 3 unread messages from [f/n]. One telling me she was there, one wondering if I was okay, and one telling me she was on her way to check on me at my house. And I had ignored each one. I looked up through the messages and most were from her. Asking if I was okay, wishing me good luck on exams, wishing me a great day, and then one where SHE asked me out for Christmas Eve. She told me how she missed me and how she was wishing me well at swim practice. And I had ignored each one. I had even forgotten our Anniversary. All of a sudden I felt a few tears fall down my face. What had I done? She had gone through so much pain before she met me and now here I was putting her through more pain. I had promised her mother and myself that I wouldn’t do that to her. Maybe letting her go was for the best. Maybe it would set her free. It was time for me to think about her and not myself. But doing that would be so hard…. I had to think about it. I still had no idea what I was going to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So much angst. It seems that I always go back to it. But that's Chapter 20. 
> 
> And I'm posting this on my birthday so Happy Birthday to Me! ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ
> 
> As always comments are welcome and you follow me on [tumblr ](http://dianexchan.tumblr.com/)


	21. Morning Run

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You can't sleep so you go for morning run and bump into Rin. You find out that he's back for New Years and he demands you tell Gou about what happened on Christmas. You also find out you will have a surprise guest of your mother's that night and Makoto texts you. Maybe reconciliation?

I woke up at around 5:30am. It was New Year’s Eve. I had another nightmare about being alone and this time I couldn’t go back to sleep. I took one last look at my phone. I don’t know why I was expecting anything. I had told him I would text him when I had decided. But I still didn’t know what to do. Was he willing to change. To change for me? I had a sneaking suspicion that he couldn’t and it broke my heart thinking about it.

My mom wouldn’t wake up for a while and it was a little early to start breakfast. I hadn’t gone for a run in a while so I decided now was probably the best time. I got on some of my old running pants, an athletic shirt, and my running sneakers. I grabbed my phone and put it in my fit belt I had gotten for a Christmas present a couple of years back. It could hold your phone, money, earphones. Basically anything that could be laid flat. I tied up my hair and headed out the door,

It was cold but by the time I started running and getting my blood pumping I was starting to warm up. The familiar feel on my leg muscles being pulled taught, the feeling of my feet hitting the pavement and the solace feeling of being alone in nature. Naturally, I started to think about Makoto. I dwelled on the fun memories. The party for Rin, our first kiss, our first date, lunches at school with him, but then all of a sudden I remembered why I was alone this morning. The fact that I still didn’t know what I wanted to do. I just let my tears fall; not bothering to wipe them off my face. As I looked up I saw a familiar face. Was that…Rin?

As he was running closer to me I saw the familiar red hair, crimson eyes, and pointy teeth. “Rin?”

At my voice he looked up and we both slowed down. “[f/n]?”

“Welcome back.” I greeted him and smiled.

He just looked to the side. “Thanks.” I heard him mumble. “So, what are you doing out here so early in the morning?”

“I couldn’t sleep so I decided to go for a run. To kind of clear my head.”

“Mm.” “Would you mind if I ran with you?”

“Of course not Rin onii-san!” I tease him and elbow him in the side. We both laugh. We both run in silence just enjoying each other’s company. Him sensing that I didn’t want to talk about what was bothering me and me sensing that he didn’t want to talk about what was on his mind.

“So I never properly thanked you for the party [f/n]-chan.”

I coughed. “Don’t worry about it.”

“No really thank you. It really meant a lot to me.”

“You’re welcome.” I mumbled. I really didn’t do well receiving compliments. I could just hear him chuckle beside me.

“So what ever happened between you and Makoto?” I swallowed hard. Of course he would want to know. He helped Kou in getting us together. But I really didn’t want to talk about it.

“Well…” don’t cry [f/n]. Don’t cry. “We did get together.”

I looked over to see him smile for me and then his smile fell. “I thought that was what you wanted [f/n]. Why do you seem so sad?”

Did I seem sad? I didn’t mean to. “Oh well things changed after you left.” I could hear him swallow.

“What do you mean?”

“Well…” I took a deep breath. “I haven’t seen much of Makoto lately.”

“Maybe he’s just busy. How long has it been?”

“That we actually spent time together? Not in passing?” he just nods. “Um…” I try to think. It has been a long time. “Let’s see. About 3 ½ months?” Luckily my tears aren’t falling. Maybe I’ve cried myself out.

“What?!?” “What about Christmas Eve?” I flinched at that. I really didn’t want to remember that.

“Oh, um, we had plans. But they sort of fell through.”

“What do you mean they ‘fell through’.” “[f/n]-chan, quit sugar coating it for me. You know me.”

“Just don’t tell Kou, alright? She must already feel bad enough and I want her to have a good holiday.”

“You really are a good friend.” He nods.

“He…he…. he stood me up.” I just see his eyes go wide. “We had a big fight at his last swimming tournament. And this was his way of making it up to me. But he never showed.”

“Making what up?” I looked over at him.

“Do you mind if we sit over there?” I pointed to the ocean. “I need to sit down for a minute.” He nods and I continue.

“Well, he hadn’t been talking to me. I would message him but I would never get a reply. I found out from Kou that he had a swimming tournament. She thought I knew but of course I didn’t. I decided to go anyways and support him. I hadn’t seen him swim in so long; I missed it. After the race he looked up and saw me. It was like he didn’t think I would be there. That he didn’t want me there. I had to leave and then he confronted me.” I bit my lip. I wasn’t going to cry.

“He told me that he was sorry. That it slipped his mind. Kou protected me the whole time. She told him how could it be a mistake that he hadn’t invited me to any of them. He had no response. I didn’t care what happened. I just would have liked for him to at least tell me about it. If he didn’t want me there; that was fine. So I confronted him. I told him that I felt like he really didn’t want me there. And he had no response to that. I was hurt. I just went home and Kou comforted me. I got a message later that night of him asking me to meet up for Christmas Eve. That we could do anything that I wanted. I agreed. I made him a cake and waited for him downtown for an hour and a half and he never showed. I went to his house to check on him and he wasn’t there. That was when I saw him leaving Haru’s house. I was heartbroken. I told him that I was tired. Tired of everything. I almost broke up with him right then and there but I didn’t. To my knowledge we’re still together. I told him I needed to think and I would tell him when I made my decision.” I sighed at the end I looked over at Rin. He looked like he was seething in anger. “Rin?”

“What the hell is his problem?!?!?” He was shaking. I touched my hand to his shoulder.

“Rin, it’s okay.”

“LIKE HELL IT’S OKAY!” I flinched at the passion in his voice. “No way I’m going to let him get away with this! You’ve already been through so much and for him to do this…”

“Rin, I’ll figure it out. Don’t worry about it. This is your holiday too. I don’t want you worrying about it.”

“No.” I feel him pull me up. “If you don’t want me confronting Makoto, fine. But you’re talking to Kou. You need to tell her.”

“Rin!” I protested as he led me to his house.

* * *

 

I walked in to his house and his mother greeted us. When Kou heard me she ran to the front door. “[f/n]-chan, what are you doing here?!?”

Rin was just blunt, “She has something she needs to tell you.” I just blushed and looked to the side. “Come on Mom, I’ll help you in the kitchen.

“Okay, dear.” Ms. Matsuoka follows Rin looking worried for me.

After they are gone Kou just turns to me. “So what is it you needed to talk to me about?” Damn that Rin. I really didn’t want to talk about it. But I guess I had no choice.

“You know about Christmas Eve?”

“Oh yeah, you were supposed to go out with Makoto. How did that go??”

I just bit my lip and looked away.

“He didn’t…” “That son of bitch.”

“Kou!”

“What? It’s true.”

“Not really. And your mom could hear!” She just waives at me in dismissal. “I’ll deal with that later. Now, tell me what happened.”

So I told her how Makoto had stood me up. How I had found him at Haru’s house. How I couldn’t take it anymore and almost broke up with him but I didn’t. Of course I told her in much more detail than I had with Rin. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I just didn’t know how to bring it up.”

“Don’t worry about it. Be more worried what I’m going to Tachibana the next time I see him.” I could hear the anger in her voice just like her brother.

“Don’t! Please! I appreciate it though.” I smile weakly at her.

“The fact that he’s doing this to you [f/n] upsets me so much.”

“I know. I’ve had to do a lot of thinking. I’m thinking now with what happened, maybe he’ll change. I’m going to give him one last chance.”

“I don’t understand why you keep doing this to yourself but I’ll support you.” “So, did you want to stay for breakfast?”

I looked up at the clock on her wall. Oh no! It was already 7! “Oh no! No, thanks for the offer but I’ve got to get breakfast ready for my mom. We always do breakfast instead of dinner every year since she usually has to work.”

“Okay. Well keep me updated!”

“I will! Sorry for the intrusion Ms. Matsuoka! Happy New Year!” I quickly put on my shoes and run towards my house.

* * *

 

I run so fast back towards my house. I finally make it and greet my mother “Tadaima Kaa-san!” I’m resting on my knees trying to catch my breath.

“Okaeri [f/n]!” My mom walks out of the kitchen wearing an apron. She looks me up and down. “So that’s where you went. I was wondering. It’s been a long time since you’ve gone running.”

I slipped off my shoes. “Yeah, I couldn’t sleep this morning so I thought I would go for a run.”

“Hmm. Well, breakfast should be done in about 15 minutes.”

“Alright well I’m going to go take a shower really quick and get dressed. Sorry I was late this morning. I didn’t think my run would take that long.”

“It’s alright. I like cooking for my daughter sometimes.” She smiled at me and I bounded up the stairs and to the shower. I was trying to rush my shower but it wasn’t happening. As I let the warm water relax my muscles I thought about what I told Kou. I was going to give him a 3rd chance. After this… I didn’t want to think about it. I could feel my heart breaking. I hurried and shampooed my hair and washed my body down. I dried my hair and body and got dressed for the day. I pulled out my phone from my belt and decided to send a quick text to Makoto wishing him a Happy New Year. I then headed downstairs where breakfast was waiting.

“Sorry to make you wait.” I apologized to my mom. She already had everything set out. Every year for the New Year we would have an American breakfast. We had made this a tradition because usually she would have to work on New Year’s. This year was different but we kept up the tradition.

“It’s no problem dear. Let’s eat before it gets too cold.” I sat down and we ate. She asked me about school and I asked her about work. It was nice to spend this time with my mom. I didn’t get it much when I was younger so it was a nice change. By 8am we were both full so I helped her with the cleanup and then we sat down in the living room and continued our conversation.

“So, I haven’t heard much about Makoto lately. He hasn’t been around in a while.” She side-eyed me and I swallowed hard. She didn’t need to know.

“Oh, he’s doing well,” I half-lied. “He won a recent match in backstroke and their new relay team won second place.” I smiled but I couldn’t put a lot a feeling behind it.

“But what about you two?” “How are you two doing?” I just looked down.

“We’re doing fine.” I curtly replied.

I heard my mother sigh beside me. “[f/n], I know something is going on. You don’t have to tell me, but I’m hear if you need someone to listen. You haven’t been eating much aside from today. I can tell you’re hurting.”

I sigh. “I know Kaa-san. Makoto and I are just going through a rough patch right now. We’ll work through it I’m sure.”

She sighed again. “Alright [f/n]-chan, I’m not going to push it. I just worry about you.”

“Thanks Kaa-san.” I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. “Do you mind?”

“No go ahead.” I fished my phone out of my pocket. I had two text messages. One from Kou wishing me a Happy New Year and the other from Makoto… I swallowed and opened it.

_MAKOTO:_

_Happy New Year [f/n]! I know you said you were going to let me know when you were ready but I miss you. Are you doing anything later today? I was thinking we could hang out if you wanted._

He was asking me out. He. Was. Asking. Me. Out. What a weird turn of events. I swallowed hard and looked up at my mother. “Would you mind if I went out later with Makoto?”

She just nodded. “Sure thing. Just be home before 7pm. I have a something I need to show you.”

“Something you need…”

“Don’t worry about it much. Just don’t be late. Go have fun.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long to update. I've been having extreme writers block lately. I've written a couple of one-shots about Makoto though if you want to check those out too. :D
> 
> As always you can find me on tumblr
> 
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~  
> I'm seriously loving this Gou/Reader platonic relationship. :)


	22. New Year's Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You have a date with Makoto on New Year's Eve. The first date in a while.

I quickly texted Makoto back that I was free until 7pm and we agreed to meet up at 11:30am. I texted Kou to let her know that I was going out with Makoto and I was going to tell him that I was willing to give him one more chance. She didn’t approve but she supported me either way. I hurried up to my room and tried to find a suitable outfit for our outing. I found some dark skinny jeans and pair of knee-high boots. A green sweater and a cream colored scarf. I looked pretty cute if I did say so myself. I looked at the time and I still had an hour before I had to leave so I decided to sketch a little bit. It wasn’t anything coherent; just doodles to pass the time.

I looked down at the time and I had about 10 minutes left. I decided to head out and be early. I couldn’t wait any longer. I grabbed my purse and told my mother I would be back later. It was weird sensation. It was like I was going on my first date all over again. I knew things couldn’t be like they used to be but, I was going to try to make them good again.

I reached our planned meeting spot. It was just a spot downtown; nowhere special just a fountain in the center. I sat down on the edge of the fountain waiting for him. I wasn’t too worried; I was early. I really hoped that this wasn’t a repeat of last time. While I waited I looked back into the fountain and looked at my reflection in the water. My [e/c] eyes were wide with excitement. Why was I so anxious? This was Makoto. I knew him. And he knew me. It just really felt like a first date for some reason. I was blushing and everything. I touched my hands to my cheeks to try and cool them down.

“[f/n]” I hear someone say behind me. A familiar voice. I whip my head around.

“Makoto!” I stand up.

“Were you waiting long?”

I just shook my head. “No, I just got here.” I smiled brightly at him. I really did miss him.

He smiled back and it nearly took my breath away. I hadn’t seen that smile in so long. “Good.”

“So what did you want to do?”

“I’m kind of hungry. Did you want to go get lunch?”

“Sure. Lead the way.” I didn’t grab his hand like I used to but I followed in step beside him. We didn’t talk much which was weird for Makoto. But I guess things were going to be weird right now. There was a tension between us but I knew it would only take time for it to dissipate. He leads us to a ramen shop and we both order our food.

“So,”

“Hmm?” he was so on edge. This isn’t what I wanted.

“How have you been?” Small talk, huh? I internally sighed. I guess this is how it has to start huh?

“Good. I joined the art club. Everyone has been really nice. How about you?”

“It’s been good. Relay team is starting to work well; it’s not like when Rin was here though.” Really Makoto? I bring up my hand and grab his hand. He looks up at me wide-eyed.

“Makoto, it doesn’t have to be this way. I’m not some stranger; I’m [f/n]. [F/n], your girlfriend. I’m willing to try if you are.” I rub my thumb in circles on the top of his hand.

He just hangs his head. “You’re too good to me.” I hear him whisper. He looks up and smiles. “Okay [f/n].” All of sudden our food shows up and we start to eat. We talk about random things and we both find out we love cats. After we’re done eating we head to the arcade where we play a few games. After that he asked if I wanted to take a walk along the beach. The same beach where we bonded. I agreed.

* * *

 

We were walking along the beach and I was really enjoying my day. This had been my best day in a long time. No tears, no heartbreak, just smiles and happiness. “I really had a great time with you today Makoto.” I smile up at him. We still hadn’t held hands but that was okay. We both had to heal and wounds of the heart take a little longer to heal.

“I did too [f/n]-chan.” He still seems tense but I think that’s just going to have to take time.

We walk ahead and come to the tree. The tree that I bared my past to him under. “You want to go have a seat over there?” He pointed to the tree and I just nodded my head started walking to the tree and I sat down beneath it. Makoto was close behind me and when he sat down his fingertips grazed my fingers and he immediately pulled them back. I grimaced and laid my hand on top of his. I missed the warmth of his hands. They were like home.

I could hear him clear his throat and I could see a blush on his face. I giggled and then looked straight ahead to the ocean. It was so calming. “This is nice.” I breathe out.

“Mmhmm..” I squeeze his hand enjoying the moment. “[f/n], I need to talk to you about something.”

“Hmm? What is it Mako-chan?” I saw him swallow hard and I swear I saw a grimace. What was it??

“I’ve been doing some thinking.” Oh no. What… “I really do care about you… but…You deserve someone so much better than me.”

“Makoto, what are you talking about?” I was starting to panic. Where did this come from?

“You do. Someone who can give you the attention and love that you deserve and right now that person isn’t me.”

My heart was breaking into pieces. I thought we were working towards a solution? What happened? “Makoto..Ma…” I could hear me breaking down. “Are you…. are you breaking up with me?” His only response was to look out at the ocean.

“You deserve someone so much more than me. I think right now we would be better off apart.”

“No..no..no!!! Please Makoto! All I need is you! No one else! You are perfect for me! I know we were going through a rough patch just please rethink this! We can work through this!” I was starting to sound frantic and desperate. He just clenched the grass beneath him. “No…” I just broke down into sobs. I heard him move above me.

“I’m sorry [f/n]. This is really for the best.” He was standing up now and starting to walk away. I had to do something! I couldn’t let it end like this! I grabbed his pants leg and I was now on my knees.

“MAKOTO PLEASE! Please don’t leave me!! Please!! Please…” I died down as I saw his resolve. There was no convincing him otherwise. “Please don’t leave…” I finally whispered. This was like that nightmare I had when I first was at Makoto’s house. It was like Déjà vu all over again.

“I’m sorry [f/n].” He turned around and walked away. And I just sank into the ground. Did what we had mean nothing to him? I felt like my whole being was being ripped in half. Did our love mean nothing? Why?!? And another sob ran through my body. I just wanted to bury myself right there and never resurface. What was I going to do? He was a huge part of my life here in Iwatobi. I just couldn’t imagine a life without him but now I had to face it. I couldn’t do it. I just kneeled down and let my face hit the ground and cried and cried. I don’t think I’ve ever cried so much in my life.

* * *

 

I barely heard a voice after I cried for I don’t know for how long. It felt like hours but it was only probably 10 minutes. It was like waking up from a deep slumber…. ‘[f/n]….[f/n]….[f/n]!!!!’ I was going to have face the world eventually. I slowly raised my head from the dirt. I was probably a mess but I didn’t care. My reason to go on was gone. Probably forever.

“[f/n]!” I heard Kou. “I finally found you! Oh my god! What happened to you?!?”

I couldn’t tell her just yet. “How’d you know I was here?” I tried to push emotion into my voice but I sounded weird even to my ears.

“Makoto texted me and told me you were here and you might be in trouble.” I flinched. He made sure I was taken care of. Hearing his name just sent needles through my heart.

“Oh…”

“What happened [f/n]-chan?” I could hear her voice laced with worry.

“I… I… He left.”

“I know that… He’s not here. But what happened…” And then I could hear her get it. It was like I could hear the switch in her head. “Oh my god.” I felt her embrace me. I couldn’t cry anymore. It felt like my body was out of tears to shed. “I’m so sorry [f/n]. Come on let’s go and get you cleaned up.” I heard a guy’s voice in the background. It sounded kind of like Rin. “What happened?” Kou held me up as we headed to a public restroom. “I’ll tell you later. Let’s just get [f/n] cleaned up.”

She ushered me into the bathroom while Rin waited outside. She took some paper towels and wet them in the sink. She got them damp and wiped my face down rubbing slightly to get all the dirt and dried tears off my face. She was silent and I was glad. I didn’t want to talk about anything right now. After she cleaned me up she told me she was taking me to her house. She seemed to know what I needed right at that moment. I didn’t want to face my mother; I needed to get a hold of myself first.

Rin and Kou helped me to their house and I heard Kou whisper to Rin to take care of their mother while she got me to her room.

“But what happened to her? I’m really worried.”

“I’ll tell you when we get there.”

* * *

 

We get to her house and Rin does amazingly well holding their mother’s attention from me. Kou and I sneak past to her room. She sits me down on her bed and I lay down. “You can sleep here as long as you need. I’ll be right outside if you need anything.” I just nod and lay down. She walks out and latches the door shut.

I hear muffled sounds outside her door.

“So what happened? Why did we rush over there? What happened to [f/n]-chan?”

“Shh!!! Not so loud.” “From what I can gather, Makoto broke up with her. He apparently texted me so she wouldn’t be alone”

I just squeezed my eyes shut and pulled a pillow over my head. I didn’t want to hear anymore. I didn’t want to face it.

“Are you serious?!?”

“SHH!!” “She hasn’t told me anything but it’s pretty obvious. All she said was that he left.”

“That asshole.” He hisses.

“Rin! I know you want to go teach him a lesson but that’s not what [f/n]-san needs right now. She needs us to support and protect her!”

I hear him sigh, “But why is she acting like this. It’s like she checked out.”

“It’s probably because she has. You have no idea how deeply in love with him she was. Maybe still is.”

Still is, is more like it. I couldn’t take any more of this. I had to get a hold of myself. Even if I wasn’t okay on the inside, I had to look like it on the outside. I headed to the bathroom that was attached to her bathroom. Now to convince everyone that I was okay.

> * * *

 

I had done this before. A long time ago but I had done it. I looked in the mirror and it was scary to say the least. There was no life in my eyes. My eyes weren’t red and puffy anymore but my hair was a mess. I pulled out a couple leaves from my hair and straightened it out. I tried to smile and it was a poor excuse for a smile. I tried again and again until I finally got it down. It didn’t reach my eyes but it was pretty convincing.

I decided to try and go out. I grabbed my purse and started to open the door. “[f/n]!!” Kou looked so concerned. She was such a good friend. How did I ever find a friend like her? “Are you okay??”

I forced the best smile I could. “Yeah, I’m fine Kou-chan!” I could do this. Just a little longer and the day would be over. “Thanks for helping me out today. I should probably head home though. My mom is expecting me.”

She bit her lip. She could probably see through it. “Are you sure [f/n]-chan?”

“Yeah, I’m…”

“No you’re not [f/n]! Don’t you dare say you’re just fine!” I could hear Rin growl. I then saw Kou stand in front of Rin and talk to him, taking his shoulders into her hands. I couldn’t hear anything she said but I could see him physically relax.

“Alright [f/n], if that’s what you want. Just know if you need anything just send me a text.” She smiles at me. And eventually I would text her but I just couldn’t do it right now. I just nodded to her. And started walking to the exit.

Just as I was about the exit the door I looked back at the Matsuoka siblings. “Um…thanks and I…”

“I understand. If you want, you can still come with us to shrine tonight. You’re more than welcome to.” I just nod and turn to leave. The walk home was a somber one and I tried not to think of the day that had started out so good and ended so badly. I started to wonder what he was doing. If he was feeling as much pain as I was; if he was missing me as much as I was missing him. All of sudden I tasted something salty on my lips. I reached up and my face was wet. I guess I was crying and didn’t even know it. I couldn’t go home like this.

* * *

 

I decided to keep walking and I visited all the places that were important to us. The beach, the café we had our first date at, the arcade, the school and lastly I visited the ITSC. I slowed down as I heard a familiar voice.

“Race me Haru.” Was that Rin?

“Mm.” My curiosity got the better of me and I got closer. My suspicions were correct; I saw Rin and Haru enter the Swim Club. I decided to get even closer and I saw Coach Sasabe (I think that was his name. I only heard it in passing.) refereeing the race. As their hands hit the wall it was apparent that Haru won. As Rin lifted himself out of the pool he just collapsed to the floor and hit his fist on the ground. My heart was breaking for him. Everyone knew that they were rivals and now. Now all the training he had done didn’t help him one bit. I could see him break down and tears were just falling down his face.

“Rin.” I could see Haru reaching out to him and Rin just pushed him away.

“I quit! I quit swimming! I can’t do this!” And I see him just running for the exit. I gasp and hurriedly rush to my hiding spot around the corner of the building. Rin was too much in anguish to notice me there as he ran past. After I thought he was far enough away I stepped out from my hiding spot.

I heard an intake of breath and turn around, “[f/n].” And there he is. Haru. “Why are you here? Aren’t you supposed to be with Makoto?” So he didn’t know. Makoto hadn’t told him yet.

I just swallowed hard. “He…he…” I can do this. “He had other things he needed to…other people he needed to see.” Complete and utter lie. I didn’t know what he was doing.

“[f/n] why are cry…” and then his eyes just widened. I wiped my face with my hands and yep, my face was wet again. He had to have known now. He had this weird telepathy thing with Makoto that I could never hope to achieve.

“Well I got to go.” I turned around and started walking off.

“[f/n]! Wait!”

“Happy New Year Haruka.” I then ran off and thankfully he didn’t follow me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So first off I want to apologize! I apologize to the reader and Makoto! I promise things will get better. It was so hard to write this chapter; it took all I had not to cry while writing it.
> 
> And second, this part of the story is very close to coming to an end. I hope you guys read the other parts and to the readers that have stuck with it this far, thanks so much! It means a lot to me. Especially for this being the first fan fiction that I have ever written. You guys are amazing! :D  
> \----------  
> As always you can find me on [tumblr](http://dianexchan.tumblr.com)


	23. New Year's Dinner

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I apologize that this chapter took so long to come out. I've had some serious writer's block recently. I can't seem to get the story where I want it to go. I know the ending but I just can't seem to get there. I'm really sorry!
> 
> Hopefully I can just muscle through it.

It was about to be 6pm and I had decided it was best to head home. I didn’t want to but I did promise my mom I would be home before 7pm. I walked slowly down the beach to our home enjoying the night air. The smell of the sea calmed me down and I mentally prepared myself for the night ahead.

I finally saw the outline of my house and my mom had lights on in the kitchen and living room. “Tadaima” I mumbled as I entered our home.

My mom skipped to the entrance “Okaeri [f/n]! How was your day?” My mom seemed more chipper than usual.

“It was fine…” I looked at her to look for any hints to a reason for her change in behavior.

“Just fine? I thought you had a date with Makoto.” I tried not to flinch at that. This was going to be harder than I thought.

“Oh, yeah I did. We had fun. Went to the arcade and to lunch.” I just told her the facts. I didn’t want her questioning me. “Why are you wearing that?” I nodded to her outfit. She was wearing an apron. She never wore an apron. I did when I was making a big dinner.

“Oh.” Was that a blush? What the heck? She was acting like a teenage girl. “I’m cooking some dinner.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Does this have anything to do with that surprise you mentioned this morning?”

I just heard her cough, “Well actually, yes. Why don’t you sit down?” We sat down and she was fidgeting at the table. “You know that I’ve been dating someone right?”

“Yeah…”

“Well, he’s coming over for dinner…tonight.” My eyes widen. Wow, I really wasn’t expecting this.

“He must be important then.”

She just nods, “He’s another doctor at the hospital that I work at. He’s really important to me. I also…”

“There’s more??”

“I’m thinking of asking him to move in with us. I was going to ask you before I asked him.” I nearly choked on air. Move in with us?!? What the heck?!?

“Move in? Isn’t that a little sudden?” She just grimaced. “How long have you two been dating?”

“About 5 months.” So about as long as Makoto and I dated. I internally grimaced as I remembered why it was past tense.

“Oh. Well. I don’t know mom. This is a little sudden.” She just nods. “Let me meet him first and then I’ll let you know.”

“That’s understandable. He’ll be here at 7:15. His name is Hideaki Sosa-san.” I just nodded.

“Well, I’m going to go clean up a bit and I’ll be back down here in a few to help.”

“Thank you [f/n]-chan!” I just smile as I head up to my room. When I get there I just shut the door behind me and slide down the closed door. I sit there and just hang my head letting the last few tears of the night fall down my face.

“How am I going to do this??” How was I going to keep it together when it’s going to be so obvious that my mom is in love? I just hope it’s not thrust in my face too much tonight. I took some deep breaths and gathered my courage. I took off my scarf and hung it up in my closet and hung my bag on my desk chair. I looked at myself in the mirror. I didn’t look too much different but I could tell there was difference. The sparkle was gone from my eyes. I just sighed and brushed my hair to kind of look presentable. I gathered up my courage and descended into the lion’s den.

* * *

 

As I walked downstairs I saw my mother had most of the dinner ready. She had prepped some chicken Yakiniku and a side of rice with it. I also saw a baked cake to the side that hadn’t been iced yet.

“So,” I cleared my throat, “What do you need my help with?”

“Eep!” I could see my mother physically jump. She must be on edge. “Oh, well could you decorate the cake? You’re so good at it.”

“Sure. What kind is it?”

“Just a white sponge cake.” I just nod my head.

I open the fridge and get out some heavy whipping cream and some sugar to make a whipped cream icing. I put the bowl in the freezer while I got out and cut the fruit to go on top. I cut the strawberries, kiwi, and peaches. I washed the berries and tried not to think. Just let my hands do the work. I got out the bowl and poured in the cream and measured the right amount of sugar and beat up the icing.

“So, [f/n], how did Makoto like his cake?” I flinched and some cream got on the table. “[f/n]-chan?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I must have spaced out.”

“That’s okay. So did he like it?” I could feel a tear escape. Apparently I wasn’t going to avoid this line of questioning.

“I’m not sure.”

“What do you mean?” I dragged in a breath. “[f/n]??” She turned me around “[f/n]!!!” And with her surprise she pulled me into a hug. “What’s wrong?”

With that embrace I just lost it. It’s all that I needed. Some affection, to be held so I knew it wasn’t going to all end. “Come on, we need to talk. You have a lot to tell me.”

I just looked up at her. “But your date will be here soon!” She just shook her head. “You’re more important. He will understand.” She reached over and turned off the burner on the stove and moved me to the living room. We sat down on the couch. “Now, tell me what happened from the start.” I bit my lip and looked away. “Come on [f/n], I swear you’ll feel better once you talk about it. I know you, you’re going to try and keep this bottled up. But you need to talk about it."

I close my eyes. I know she’s right but I didn’t want to admit it. I was prideful and I wanted to deal with this on my own. “Okay,” I hung my head in defeat. I could feel her relax beside me.

“You know Ma…Ma…Makoto and I were having troubles? Well…We had a fight about 2 months ago. Apparently he had a competition and didn’t tell me about it. I found out from Kou. I went and surprised him and he basically confirmed that he didn’t really want me there. We hadn’t been talking for a while and we hadn’t seen each other in a month.” I could hear each reaction but I chose not to react to them. “I was heartbroken and I just left. Well he apologized and said he wanted to go out on Christmas Eve to make up.” I swallowed hard. This was the worst, I hated reliving it. I felt her rub my arm. I proceeded to tell her the story of what happened on Christmas Eve. How I almost ended things with him and how he didn’t want to lose me. How I told him I would choose if I wanted to continue things. She just nodded. She really was a great listener. “Then this morning I got a text from him saying how he missed me and how he wanted to meet up. And we did have a good time. Lunch, arcade and then a walk along the beach. I really thought we could fix what we had.”

“Could? Had?” I hear my mom trying to piece the puzzle together.

I swallowed hard looking up at the light overhead. It seemed to send my tears back to their depths within my heart. “We talked by the beach. He told me how much he cared for me… and then…then… He told me I deserved someone better than him. Kaa-san he left. He’s gone!!!! What am I going to do?!?!?” I just broke down in her arms.

“Shh…It’s okay [f/n].” She rubbed my back. “I know you don’t want to hear what most people say in this situation but you will get through this. It’s just really hard right now. I’m so sorry this happened, sweetheart.”

I had calmed down and took a deep breath. “It’s okay. I’m just tired of crying today.” She nods and then we hear a knocking at the door. We both look at each other and then I look at the clock. “It’s already 7:20!” “Okay mom, you greet him and I’ll finish dinner!”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I need something to keep my mind off of this anyways.”

“Alright. Thanks [f/n].”

* * *

 

I went to the kitchen and finished making the dinner my mom had started to prepare. As the meat was grilling I finished the icing and iced the cake. I arranged the fruit on top of the cake in a circular fashion in layers. I got out the dishes and set the table and dished up each plate with food. I put the cake in the refrigerator and started heading to the living room when I heard my mother talking.

“Sosa-san, I wanted to warn you. Don’t ask her about her boyfriend. It’s a sore subject. He broke up with her today.” I swallowed hard. It sounded like my mother was trying not to cry as well.

“Oh my, is she okay?” He sounded like he had a nice voice. A deep, smooth one that was pleasant to the ears.

“She’ll be fine. She’s a strong girl.”

“Okay. Duly noted. But what should I talk about then?”

“She joined the art club, so you could ask her about that. She’s actually pretty easy to get along with. Don’t worry.” I could hear her pat him on the leg and I decided to make an appearance.

“Dinner’s ready.” I announced.

“Oh, good!” My mother smiled at me. “[f/n] this is Hideaki Sosa, Sosa this is my daughter [l/n] [f/n].”

I bowed my head to him. “Nice to meet you, Hideaki-san.”

He bowed back in similar fashion. “Nice to meet you too, [l/n]-san. And you can call me Sosa if you want.”

“Oh,” wow…okay then. “Sosa-san, you can call me [f/n] if you want too.” He was a pretty handsome man. He head rectangular glasses with only the top half of the frame, dark hair that framed his face well and he was at decent stature of 167cm. He dressed nice in a dark grey sweater and nice black dress pants.

He smiled back at me. “Nice to meet you [f/n]-san.”

I cleared my throat, “Well if you’ll follow me, we can start eating. My mother planned a pretty delicious meal.”

“Great, I’m starving.” My mother led her guest to the kitchen.

* * *

 

“This looks delicious [f/n], Hinata.” My mother’s guest complimented our meal.

I blushed, “Thank you.” I mumbled and I hear my mother giggle.

“She’s not great with compliments.” I puff up and look to the side.

“Let’s eat.” I mumble. And I can hear the both of them laugh.

“Itadakimasu.” We all mumble before we ate. The food is surprisingly good and the conversation is light and pleasant. He asks me about school and, no surprise, the art club and I easily find things to talk about. They talk about the work they do at the hospital and for some reason my childhood comes up in the conversation. They all loved my cake and he was impressed that I also decorate and bake cakes.

“This was really delicious. Thank you for the meal.” He smiled at both of us.

“I’ll make some tea if you two would like to wait in the living room.” My mom offered.

“That sounds nice” And I head to the living room to sit down. I had yet to know how this man was around my mother. I needed to find out. Eventually Sosa came and sat down.

“Thank you again for the meal, [f/n]. It was delicious.”

“Mm.” I nod. I looked up at him and there was an obvious change in my behavior. “I’m not going to beat around the bush here. How do you truly feel about my mother?”

I could see him swallow. “Oh, well. Truthfully [f/n]?” I nod. “I love your mother. She is a very strong, beautiful woman. If anything, raising you alone is a testament to that. I’m very impressed at how your mother deals with raising a daughter in junior high, works, and even has time to do so much for others. She really is an amazing woman.”

I breathed a sigh of relief, so he saw what not many saw. What I felt like I only saw. How hard she works, and how much she does for others. It seems like he really loves her. Only time would tell how the relationship would go from here but I could already tell he was making my mother happy. And that’s all I wanted for my mom.

“Alright. It’s been just me and my mom for a long time. I wanted to make sure the person in her life would understand her like I do. How much she does for everyone. Just please, continue to make her happy.” I could see a huge smile creep up his face and it was contagious.

“I promise, [f/n].” He bowed his head and I just nodded to him.

“Tea is ready!” I could hear my mother enter the room and we both look up and I can see her smile brightly at me. So she heard. I just nod. She sets down the tray and we all drink from the glasses we each had. We talked jovially and I really was starting to like this Sosa. He could be really funny at times.

“Well, I should probably head out now. Thank you for the nice meal and tea. I had a really nice time.” He stood up and bowed. I decided to give them some personal time and made my leave as well.

“Thank you for coming.” I bow to him. “It was nice to meet you Mr. Sosa-san.”

“It was nice to meet you too, [f/n].” and with that I headed up to my room.

* * *

 

“Well, that wasn’t so bad.” Sosa sighs.

“I told you it wouldn’t be that bad. She’s pretty easy to get along with.”

“Yeah, she’s a good girl. I can tell she really cares about you.” It was turn for Hinata to blush now.

“Oh, stop.”

“Well, I really did have a nice time. But I do have to go.” The way he said it was like he didn’t want to go.

“I know. Call me and let me know you go home safe.”

“I will.” He kisses her goodbye. “I love you, Hinata.”

“I…I love you too.” Sosa chuckles.

“You’ll get used to it eventually.” He kisses her on the forehead and Hinata watches him go.

 

 

 

“So, they really do love each other.” I whisper at the top of the stairs. “I’m glad they’re happy.”  I smile and head back to my room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there's the chapter update! Hope you guys like it. Kudos and comments are greatly appreciated! Also check me out at http://dianexchan-writes.tumblr.com/ ! :D


	24. Life Goes On

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry this chapter is so short and so bad. :/   
> Writer's block sucks.  
> I hope you forgive me.

They say life goes on and at first I didn’t believe it. How could it? I had known Makoto since I had moved to Iwatobi. But slowly, day by day, life did go on. I didn’t have any classes with him and I started coming to school later so I wouldn’t be tempted to look for him before school. It happened from time to time because I couldn’t help it. I heard Haru and Makoto quit swimming but I didn’t know the reason. Nagisa went to another school that I heard focused mainly in academics which confused me. He just didn’t seem like the studying type, it seemed like something that would tie a person like him down. And Kou and my friendship deepened. I also became friends with Chigusa and we would all each lunch together. She was pretty good friend too. Obsessed with muscles just like Kou.

I also became president of the art club. I had grown popular with my win at local art competition for my piece called “Gentle Orca”. It was a painting of an orca swimming away into a sunset. No one seemed to know what it was about except myself. There was a lot of blues in the picture and the scene was at night. Clouds covering the stars and moon. Just complete darkness. It wasn’t swimming to an island just the ocean. To me it was a very somber picture because it was how I dealt with the absence of Makoto. It was my view of my life at the moment. I hated that it was hung up in the art room and I had to look at it every day. It reminded me of that day every time I looked at it. I tried to avoid it but it hit me every day.

A couple months after the dinner with my mother’s boyfriend, Sosa, moved in with us. Things didn’t change much. He was a pretty easy going man and like my mother had to work a lot of the time. But I didn’t mind it, I was just glad that my mother was happy. He really was good for her. I had never seen her like this before. She always had a smile on her face and light in her eyes. I thanked the heavens for Sosa because he was exactly what my mother needed.

Classes went by like usual and the days became months and the months became years and before I knew it, it was the last day of 3rd year at Iwatobi Middle. I had contemplated going to a different high school, I thought distancing myself would maybe help me get over Makoto just a little bit. But as I thought about it I just couldn’t leave Kou. I wanted to go to school with her and not to mention the thought of making new friends just scared me.

So, here I was the last day wondering how High School was going to go. Anxious and nervous for the next year at school and wondering what other surprises it had in store for me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that's the last chapter for this first part of this series. I'll continue the next part in Part 2. It'll take place when the protagonist is in high school and then later on in college. Hope you guys continue to read on and continue this story with me.
> 
> Kudos and comments are appreciated!
> 
> As always you can find me at dianexchan-writes.tumblr.com


	25. Second Chances Update!!!

Hey Guys!

I feel like I need to apologize to all my faithful readers. I haven't updated this fic as much as I should have. I can make as many excuses but it all falls on me. But I can tell I'm going to put forth my hardest effort to update this more often. Of course, life gets in the way. I'm getting married pretty soon so that takes up a lot of my time. And I'm going to try to work through this awful writer's block that I've been going through recently. :P 

So, without any more delay.... I've posted part 2 of this fic! :D 

 

[Second Chances: Part 2](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6909838/chapters/15761746)

 

I hope you guys enjoy it! :)

 

A little Mako-chan to brighten up your day:


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